A New, Old Life
by wencho17
Summary: When Puck leaves Quinn and a nine month old Beth alone, there is only so much the teenage mother can do. Finding a way to survive is harder than it looks without people in her corner and she quickly learns even when old faces return, life is still tricky
1. Prequel Part One

**This is my newest story and it tells a story of what could have happened had Quinn kept Beth. In this story, Quinn and Puck were together for seven months after Beth's birth before he left her and the baby for a different life. Follows glee canon except for the fact that in this story Finn and Quinn did not date again in their junior year, Quinn kept Beth and both Puck and Santana left McKinley after the summer of their sophomore year.**

**Also just wanted to say that some of my chapters are long and some are short. I write based on what I think are scenes and each scene gets a long chapter so don't get turned off if this story ends up being 40 chapters or so. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own glee. Wish I did because then it would be even more awesome than it is now.**

**This is part one of the prequel.**

"Puck, my uh, my water broke," Quinn said as she looked at Puck. He was just as shocked as she was.

"What should we do?" he asked, terrified. It was clear from his reactions he was clueless on how to deal with this.

"We need to get Quinn to the hospital, now," Mr. Schue said as he stepped in front of the terrified Puck.

"What about Sectionals?" Rachel piped up.

Leave it to Rachel to think only of herself, Quinn thought. "I'm having a baby Rachel, I think that is a little more important than your stupid Sectionals."

"Fine," Rachel responded as she headed back to where the rest of the glee club was standing. "Come on Finn, let's go." She dragged him into another room as Quinn looked on. She hated that Finn was with Rachel. She hated every minute she had to see the two of them together but now all she was focused on was her baby and in making sure she was going to be born healthy.

"Puck, can we go please?" Quinn said now pleading with him.

"Uh sure, yeah let's go," he said still trying to let the fact that his daughter was about to be born, sink in.

"Mr. Schue, I'll go to the hospital with Puck, you guys stay here and win Sectionals," Quinn said to her teacher.

"Are you sure Quinn? You're going to be okay?" Mr. Schue asked as he noticed Puck shaking. He gave Quinn a look. "Are you sure?"

"Positive Mr. Schue," Quinn said giving her teacher a weak smile.

"We will be there as soon as our performance is over," Mercedes said as she hugged her friend. "Take care."

"I swear Puckerman if you screw this one up, I'll have to kill you myself," Santana said as her and Brittany gave Quinn hugs before heading to the performance room. Who knew Santana cared about, Quinn thought. She did after all according to San, steal her man.

Quinn smiled at her friends. "Break a leg!" she shouted before she winced in pain. "Puck we have to go, NOW!"

"Uh yeah okay, let's go," he said as he grabbed her hand and helped her to his car.

"It's going to be okay Puck," she said as he helped her into the seat. He stood leaning over her door as he helped her put on her seatbelt.

"I should be the one telling you it's going to be okay," Puck said as he hung his head disappointed with himself.

"I know," Quinn said softly.

"I'm just so scared. I don't know if I can do this anymore," he responded as he pulled his head up, the fact that he was crying evident in his face and his voice.

The look in his eyes was a combination of guilt and fear but Quinn wasn't in the mood to sympathize. She was the one having the baby after all.

"I don't care what you're going through because we're doing this, we have no choice," Quinn began. "We got into this mess together and now we have to finish it. I'm scared too Puck, but it helps knowing I have someone here with me. Even if after all that someone is you."

Puck had gotten used to hearing Quinn talk like this in the past few months. Ever since Finn found out the truth and in Puck's mind totally bailed on her, Puck stepped up to help Quinn. At first she had turned him away but it got a point that she needed him as much as he needed to help her. He wouldn't quite say they got along but for the sake of Beth, he was what Quinn needed. Even though her words sounded harsh he knew that was her way of saying thank you.

He smiled at her before he closed the door, "I'm not going anywhere."

It was a few minutes before Puck actually started the car. "Why haven't you started the car yet?" Quinn asked concerned.

Puck had no reason. He put the keys into the ignition and began to drive away. After a few minutes of a silent ride he told her why he had waited and what was on his mind. It was simple but sweet at the same time.

"You're going to have our little girl," Puck smiled as he looked back at her.

Quinn smiled back at him and reached out to grab his hand. "We're having a little girl," she corrected.

It was definitely more than Beth, there was something real there. They both knew it but wouldn't admit it. It was just easier to say it was Beth. She was the reason why it all happened in the first place. She was the reason why Puck fell in love with Quinn.


	2. Prequel Part Two

Twenty minutes later, the longest twenty minutes both of them had ever felt, Puck walked with Quinn into the hospital. It was obvious how much pain she was in when she walked in that a nurse immediately came up to her with a wheelchair.

"Miss, are you okay?" the woman asked as she helped Quinn into the chair.

"I think I'm in labor," Quinn said as calmly as she could. "My water broke about 30 minutes ago and I've been in pain ever since."

"Are you having contractions?" the nurse asked.

"Uh yeah I think so," Quinn answered as she felt another surge. "I think I'm having one right now."

Quinn grabbed Puck's hand and squeezed as tightly as she could until the contraction ended.

"Okay honey, I'm going to get you into a room right away," the nurse said as she led Puck and Quinn into one of the empty rooms. "The doctor will be with you shortly."

Puck thanked the nurse and helped Quinn settle into the bed. He waited about five minutes before he decided to bring the topic up to her that he hadn't known how to before. "So uh have you thought about what you want to do you know after she's born?"

Quinn didn't really want to talk about this now but she knew that with being in labor, she would have to figure it out very soon. "Puck can we not do this now."

"Quinn I think it's important that we talk about this now, I mean," Puck began before being interrupted by the arrival of Dr. Jacobs.

"Hi Quinn, my name is Dr. Jacobs," the doctor said as he opened a chart and began to make notes. "You must be the baby's father, Mr. Puckerman, correct?"

"Yeah that's me," Puck answered as he watched Dr. Jacobs continue to look at Quinn's chart.

"Quinn, it says here that your water broke about 45 minutes ago and that you have been having contractions?" he stated.

"Yeah I think I'm in labor," Quinn clarified.

"Okay well let me take a look," he said as he began to examine her as Puck looked on. It was starting to become real for him. He was going to be a dad and Quinn was going to be a mom and they had no one but themselves to blame for that. It was the two of them, they were in it together. That was that.

"Okay sweetheart it looks like you are ready to start pushing. Are you ready for this?" Dr. Jacobs asked.

"As if I have a choice," Quinn smiled. "Yeah I think I'm ready. Puck?" she asked tentatively almost to make sure he was still there.

"I'm right here Quinn, I'm right here," he said as he squeezed her hand.


	3. Prequel Part Three

About an hour later, a small baby's crying could be heard from Quinn's room. Her little baby girl was born.

"16 inches long, 7 lbs., 8 oz. and perfectly healthy," Dr. Jacobs said as he handed Quinn her little girl. "Have you thought of a name yet?"

Quinn looked at Puck and he nodded. They had both already agreed on Beth. "Elizabeth," Quinn responded. "Elizabeth Grace."

"What a beautiful name," Dr. Jacobs said. "I'll let you two have some time with her. I'll be back with the birth certificate for you to sign."

"She's beautiful Quinn," Puck said as he couldn't stop staring at Quinn and his daughter.

"I know," Quinn smiled. "She has your eyes."

"She has your, your everything," Puck added as Quinn smiled.

It was silent for a few minutes before Quinn spoke up. "I, I want to keep her Puck. I didn't think I could but just looking at her and holding her I don't think I can give her up."

"I want to keep her too Quinn and I want to help you raise her if you'd let me," Puck said as he continued to stare at his little girl.

Quinn nodded. "We're in this together. Always."

A few more minutes of silence and time spent just staring at Beth went by before Puck's phone rang. He stepped out of the room to answer it. It was Mr. Schue.

"Hello," he said.

"Hi Noah," Mr. Schue replied. "How is Quinn?"

"Don't you mean how are Quinn and Beth?" Puck corrected.

"Oh she had the baby, that is wonderful," Mr. Schue responded as he gave the glee club a thumbs- up. Everyone cheered in the background.

"Yupp and she's perfect Mr. Schue. She is 16 inches, 7 lbs., 8 oz. and is perfectly healthy," Puck bragged as only a proud father could.

"Is Quinn allowed visitors?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Yeah, you guys can come if you want," Puck told his teacher.

"Okay, we will be over shortly," Mr. Schue said.

"Did you guys win?" Puck asked.

"Yes Puck we did. We all, you, Quinn and Beth included all won," Mr. Schue said with a big smile on his face. He was so proud of Puck and Quinn for doing this. He knew that they made a mistake but they stepped up to the plate and tried to make the best of a crazy situation. "I'm proud of you Puck, I'll see you in a few," he added before hanging up.

"Who was that?" Quinn asked when he came back into the room.

"Mr. Schue. The glee club is coming to visit," Puck told her as he smiled just imaging the thought of all of them in Quinn's hospital room.

"It's not that I'm not excited to see them Puck because I am it is just today was so much and I don't know how much I have left. I don't know if I have the energy to see Rachel and, and Finn" Quinn added softly. She had thought about this moment for months but now it was here. She had no idea how Finn would react to the baby but she felt it was selfish of her if she didn't let him to see her. Maybe he would want to. He was her father for a few months. Quinn decided she had to play it however he wanted. If he wanted to see her and Beth, fine, and if he didn't that was fine too.

"I can call him back and tell them not to come," Puck said drawing Quinn away from her thoughts of her ex.

"No it's okay, I'll deal with Rachel and Finn," Quinn said. "Puck, do you want to hold her?"

"I'd love to," he said as Quinn handed him his little girl. "Hi Beth, I'm your daddy." It felt so natural to him. He had no idea how but it did.

Quinn couldn't help but smile at Puck holding their daughter. It still felt weird to say, 'their daughter' but it was true. There was no avoiding it anymore because Beth was no longer just inside of Quinn but now she was real. A real and perfect little girl who brought Quinn to the reality of everything that transpired between her and Puck. That night may have been a mistake but the little girl in Puck's arms certainly wasn't. She may not have been planned and Quinn may have wished she didn't have her under those circumstances but there was no denying how much she loved her little girl.

"Okay new parents, here is the birth certificate," Dr. Jacobs said when he came back into the room. "Just sign here and here."

Quinn and Puck signed the paper and then Dr. Jacobs signed it to make it official. "Okay Quinn and Noah, it is official. Congratulations on the birth of your baby girl."

"Thanks Dr. Jacobs," Puck said as he shook the man's hand. "Thank you for everything."

"Just doing my job son," Dr. Jacobs said as he put his arm on Puck's shoulder. "What you two are doing isn't something many sixteen year olds do. I hope it all works out for you because you have a beautiful little girl and her mother in there to take care of. Are you up to the challenge?"

"Yes, I know I am," Puck said as he looked down at his daughter, sleeping in his arms. At the time he did really mean it. He thought he was ready.

"Glad to hear son," Dr. Jacobs said as he began to walk away. "Oh, one more thing," he remembered. "There are a bunch of people in the waiting room who want to see Quinn."

"Let them in," Puck said as he thanked the doctor and went back to Quinn to warn her that the glee club had arrived.

"They are here," he smiled as he put Beth back into Quinn's arms. And with that the whirlwind that was Puck, Quinn and Beth's lives began. It was supposed to be so perfect but it is true what they say, the best laid plans always go awry.


	4. Picking Up the Pieces

It had been nine months since Beth was born and Quinn found herself somewhere she never expected to be again. She took a deep breath, wiped the tears from her eyes and knocked on his door, afraid of what would happen.

"Quinn?" Finn answered shocked to see his ex- girlfriend and her little girl at his door.

She swallowed hard. "Yeah it's me, is it okay if I come in?"

"Uh yeah sure I guess," Finn answered as he led her into his house. He really didn't know why he let her in. They hadn't even said two words to each other since the day the truth came out. Finn really didn't want anything to do with her then or now but today something was off. Quinn seemed broken and totally distressed. He couldn't turn her away. He had gotten the feeling that had happened to her already. Besides, the second he noticed Beth in her arms his heart melted. None of what Quinn and Puck did to him was her fault. He had a soft spot for the baby girl who sometimes he still wished was his.

"So what do you want Quinn?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I wish I could say nothing because I don't deserve to want anything from you anymore," Quinn began, "it is just I had nowhere else to go and I've ran out of every option I thought I had."

"Quinn is everything okay?" Finn asked as he recognized the look in her eyes. Something was wrong.

"It's Puck," she began, "he just left. Everything seemed fine but one morning two months ago I just woke up and he was gone. All he left was this note."

_Quinn, _

_I'm sorry but I can't do this anymore. I can't be a dad. I'm not as ready as I thought. I know I'll just screw up our daughter's life so it is better that you raise her on your own. I know you're a great mom and that Beth will be fine. I love her, but I can't do this. _

_Love, Puck_

"Wow," Finn said after he read the letter. "He just left. How could he do that?"

"I don't know. I thought things were going well. We were making our messed up family work or at least I thought," Quinn said before beginning to cry again.

"It's okay Quinn," Finn said as he wrapped his arm around her. He didn't want to be comforting her but he knew it was the right thing to do. Her boyfriend and baby's father just left her alone and scared. Finn still questioned why she starting dating and trusting Puck in the first place. Finn knew that one day Puck would just get up and leave.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I've been moving around for the past two months," she told him. "I stayed with Brittany for a while before her mom kicked me out and then with Mercedes until her brother came back home for the summer and needed the room and finally I've spent the last week with Tina. She isn't exactly thrilled with having a baby in the house. She told me I have until the end of this week but then have to leave. I really don't know what I'm going to do next. I thought about asking you but I can't, I have no right. I'll just go to a shelter until I can get back on my feet and figure things out."

"What about your parents or Mr. Schue?" Finn asked. He didn't want Quinn to live with him but he knew he was not going to let her go to a shelter, no matter how much he hated her for what she did.

"Dad still won't let me move back in and Mr. Schue said he couldn't because I was a student and he was a teacher," she clarified.

"Can't they make exceptions?" Finn asked.

"No. They said if I moved in with him, he'd lose his job. He still offered but I couldn't be the reason why he lost his job. He has done so much for me and for glee club that I couldn't be the reason why he had to leave," Quinn said as she tried to hide her tears. It wasn't working however and the harder she tried to hide them, the harder they fell.

Finn could see she was helpless and that she was desperate. She wouldn't have come to him if she wasn't.

"I'm not letting you go to a shelter Quinn," Finn told her. "It's not safe for you or the baby."

"Where am I supposed to go then Finn?" she asked.

"Here," he said to her surprise. "You and Beth can stay here."

"I can't, I mean it's not right, not after everything I've done," she sobbed. Quinn was shocked he would even offer.

"Look I never said I forgave you or that I want us to be friends, I'm just doing what I know is the right thing," Finn said. "I have the extra room so you and Beth can stay there. It's better than going to a shelter."

"What about your mom?" Quinn asked.

"She's out of town for a month visiting her sister," Finn said. "So you can stay here until then. Hopefully you'll figure out something else by then."

"Finn, I don't know what to say," she said as she continued to fight off the tears.

"You don't have to say anything. I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing it for Beth," he clarified hoping to make known to her that there was nothing more to it than simply offering a room. He was dating Rachel and he loved her. He didn't know what his feelings were for Quinn anymore.

"Come on, let's go to Tina's and get your stuff," he said as he locked the door and headed to his car.

Quinn grabbed her bag and put Beth on her hip. She realized when she got into Finn's car that there was a car seat. She put Beth in it and wondered why it was there. She wasn't going to say anything to Finn about it though; she didn't want to make him mad.

It was Finn however that halfway to Tina's broke the silence. "It's stupid I know," he began as she was unsure what he was talking about. "It is just I got the car seat when I thought you and I were going to be raising Beth and I put it in and all and I just haven't had the heart to take it out."

"I'm so sorry," Quinn said. All of what she said to Finn since the truth came out was pretty much a string of apologies.

"No it's fine," he began. "Well it's not really fine but I stopped being upset about it a while ago. Stop apologizing because it's over."

Quinn nodded in agreement afraid to say anything else. Finn was helping her when no one else would despite everything. She didn't want to do anything to make him change his mind.

"Okay we're here," he said as he pulled into Santana's driveway.

"I texted her and she said she's at Mike's," Quinn said. "She said the door was open though and that I was free to get my stuff."

"Guess she really wants you out," Finn said half smiling. He had felt bad for being so harsh to Quinn. Even though she cheated on him and lied about it, there was something in him that still had that desire to make her smile.

"Guess so," she added as she gave him a little smile of her own.


	5. Nothing Is Okay

"Okay so there are a couple of rules," Finn said to Quinn as they returned from Santana's back to his house. "First, I need you to know that this is just temporary. Think of it as being a tenant here. We don't have to do things together, eat together, hang out together; we'll just share the house together. Is that clear?"

"Yes," she said. "I am just grateful you are letting me stay here. I'll stay out of your way."

"Okay, so that's really it," Finn told her. "You're welcome to anything in the fridge and the pantry and just do your own chores if you use something."

"Thanks Finn," she said as she finished setting up Beth's playpen in the living room.

"Yeah okay, I'm going to go play video games now," he said before going upstairs.

She watched him climb the stairs before crashing on the couch. "Well Beth, it looks like this is going to be our new home for a while," she said as she put her daughter into the play pen. "You'll like Finn. He is the sweetest guy I know. Everything is going to be okay baby, it will all be okay." Quinn kissed her little girl before falling asleep on the couch. It wasn't hard because she had hardly gotten any sleep the past few months. Ever since Puck left, it was a constant question of where to go, what would happen and how she would survive. She was burned out and at Finn's, a comfortable and familiar place, it was easy for her to just settle into the couch she sat on so many times and just drift off to sleep.

Two hours later, Quinn woke up and noticed that her little girl was not in her play pen. "Oh my God Beth," she thought as she got up and began searching the house for her little girl. When she opened the door to the guest room, she was shocked to see what was going on inside.

"Beth," she said with a sigh of relief. Finn turned and looked at her when he heard her voice.

"Hi Quinn, I hope this is okay," he said referring to Beth asleep next to him on his bed.

"More than okay," she smiled. "I just didn't see her in the play pen and I panicked."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that but she was crying so I thought I would put her to sleep," he said.

Quinn immediately noticed Beth asleep on the bed. It was so precious. She was just lying there and oh, Quinn froze when she saw it. Beth was clutching Finn's baby blanket, the one he had given to Quinn when he thought he was having a baby. It all became too much for Quinn. She had to get away. It reminded her of everything her and her little girl could have had if only Beth had been Finn's baby.

"It looks like you have this under control. I've got to go downstairs and uh, and, I've just got to go," Quinn said as she quickly descended the stairs, ran to the kitchen and began to cry. Finn after putting Beth down in her crib followed after her. "Are you sure everything is okay?" he asked when he saw her face buried in her hands.

"Nothing is okay," she said as she lifted her face and he could see her tears. "I have a baby at 16 who I can barely afford to take care of and that I am scared to death to raise by myself. Her father left us and hasn't even bothered to call me or text me or visit since. I don't have a home because my parents kicked me out. I'm forced to knock on your door, the one person who I told myself I would never ask to do anything for me again. It is not okay. I cheated on you with your best friend and got pregnant and had his baby. Now you hate me and want nothing to do with me but you still are letting me live in your house. I still don't fully know why, other than the fact that you are the nicest person I have ever known and that I made a huge mistake cheating on you because I loved you, I still love you and wish every day I could take it back. Then I see you upstairs with Beth so natural and so perfect and I realize that is how it is supposed to be. She is supposed to be your little girl and we are supposed to be a family and in my perfect little world we are supposed to love each other. But none of that is true. So no Finn, everything is not okay."

Finn really had no words to respond to Quinn's. She was hurting worse than he allowed himself to believe she was. She regretted everything more than he ever knew. And she still loved him. If he was honest with himself he would admit he still loved her. He didn't know in what way but he just knew that seeing her again made him feel something he hadn't felt since the day they broke up. He missed her. He didn't know why after everything that happened but he did and to be perfectly honest he missed her little girl too.

"I'd tell you everything is going to be okay and that you and Beth will find a home and that we will find our way back to each other and that Puck will come back, but I can't because I don't know if any of that is going to happen," he said as he tried to console her. "I've never lied to you and I won't start now. I want to forgive you Quinn and I have tried so hard but I am just not there yet. I do still love you but I am still sorting out all of the emotions and feelings I have. I love Beth too. Seeing her again for the first time since her birth I realized how much I still wish she was mine. So no Quinn, everything may not be okay now but I can promise you things will get better. It won't always be this tough. You'll find a way back to yourself, I know you will. The Quinn Fabray I know doesn't give up and never backs down from a challenge."

"The Quinn Fabray you knew disappeared a long time ago Finn," she said as she wiped a few tears from her face.

Finn paused and thought long and hard before what he said next. "Well I guess I'll just have to get to know the new Quinn Fabray then."

He meant it. He wanted to get to know her again. He wanted to fix all of her pain. He wanted to help her in any way he could. Truth is part of him still wanted to fix her, to be her hero, to make it all better. Part of him wanted to kick her out, to tell her he hated her and never wanted to see her again. That part was much smaller than the one that wanted to fix things. That part was a lot smaller than it was the day the truth came out. That part was almost nonexistent as Finn learned not to hold grudges and to move on. That part still hadn't forgiven her but it was a hell of a lot closer to than it was a year ago.

"Finn, I know you're not doing this for me but thank you," she said a few hours later after she finally stopped crying.

"You're welcome," he said and then for the first time in a long time he gave her a genuine smile. "Night Quinn," he added before going upstairs.

"Goodnight Finn," she said. When she was sure he was out of reach she added in a whisper, "I love you." A few hours later she too went up to the guest room and got some sleep next to her baby girl.


	6. I Wouldn't Have Left

(2 weeks later)

Quinn woke up at 4am, half an hour earlier than usual. She knew Beth was normally up at 4:30 and she did not want her crying to wake up Finn. Sure enough despite her best efforts he got up anyway.

At about 5am she felt the knock on the guest room door. "Quinn, can I come in?"

"Yeah sure," she said as she tried to quiet a crying Beth. "I'm so sorry I tried to keep her quiet but she wouldn't stop."

Finn was all ready to yell at Quinn for getting him up almost two hours early but when he saw her cradling Beth in her arms he knew he just couldn't. Besides, he had almost gotten used to the crying.

"Shh its okay Beth, don't cry baby, don't cry," Quinn cooed as she tried to get her daughter back to sleep while Finn looked on.

"Umm I don't know if it is my place to ask but do you think I could try to get her to stop crying?" Finn asked as he looked at the ground away from Quinn. He was too afraid to face her. He felt dumb.

It had been two weeks since Quinn had moved in and Finn's idea to keep a wall up between him and her had failed miserably. He found himself unable to hate her anymore. He was even starting to see the things in her that made him realize why he fell in love with her in the first place. He did however keep his distance from her and baby because when he saw the two of them together it hurt too much. He even surprised himself when he managed to get the words out. He had wanted to ask if he could hold Beth for about a week but he hadn't gotten the courage. Now he finally did.

"You, you want to hold her?" Quinn asked. It wasn't that she didn't want him to hold her baby because she wanted it more than anything in the world. He had been avoiding her and the baby for about a week and she had become accustomed to the lifestyle of living with Finn but not in the way she did when she was pregnant before the truth came out. It was for this reason that she was just confused and amazed that after everything he would still want to hold Beth.

"I understand if you don't want me to," he said trying not to sound hurt. Unfortunately for him, Quinn knew him too well and sensed his slight disappointment right away.

"No Finn, I, I'd love for you to hold her," Quinn said as she positioned her little girl into Finn's arms.

"Oh wow, she's uh so tiny," he said as he nervously took the little girl. "I won't break her will I?"

He asked so innocently, so sweetly, it made Quinn smile and even laugh a little.

"What's so funny?" he asked a little harsher than he intended.

"Nothing it's just you," Quinn sighed. She couldn't tell him how cute and adorable he was being. She knew she couldn't anymore. It would hurt them both too much. "You won't break her Finn," she instead finished.

"Okay cool," he said trying to make up for his previous comment. "Hi Beth, hi little girl," he began talking to her. It broke Quinn's heart at how sweet he was being. "It's okay, you don't have to cry. I mean I know my face is silly but it is okay."

Quinn chuckled a bit. She found it funny but it seemed to be working to her surprise. She wasn't sure of it but she swore she saw her daughter give Finn a smile. He didn't seem to notice that Quinn was watching him. He was in his own little world with Beth.

"That's a girl, see I told you there is no need for crying," Finn smiled as he rocked her back and forth. She gave a small yawn. "Yeah, you're just a little sleepy; I think I'll put you back in your crib."

Finn took Beth and put her in her crib and to Quinn's amazement she immediately went back to sleep. Finn just stared at the sleeping baby for a few minutes before remembering Quinn was in the room.

"I hope it is okay I put her back down," he said as he closed the door and followed Quinn downstairs.

"It is no problem it is just," Quinn began. "Never mind, it's nothing."

"No, what is it, did I do something wrong?" Finn asked concerned.

"No you didn't do anything wrong it is just she is going to wake up again in a few minutes because before you put her down you didn't burp her and it's just," Quinn stopped as she heard her crying baby. "I'll be right back."

Finn watched her go back upstairs and slammed his fists onto the table. He sat down on a chair in the living room and cursed himself for screwing up.

"She'll be down for the next couple of hours until I have to take her to, well until I have to get her ready," Quinn said.

"And you do this, this routine every morning?" Finn asked.

"Every morning," she responded, "but it is not that bad. I guess I really am used to it."

"That's uh, that's nice," Finn said not really sure of how to respond. "Sorry I screwed it up," he added after a few minutes.

"Oh you didn't know, it's okay," Quinn said afraid of where the topic was going.

"Yeah I didn't know, I mean I would have, you know what never mind it is okay," Finn said before getting up and heading to the kitchen.

"No Finn, It's okay. You would know what to do if, if she was yours," Quinn said as she followed him to the kitchen.

"I would have made a horrible dad," he said as he sighed into his hands.

"You wouldn't have left," Quinn added as she sat down next to him. He could see the tears in her eyes. She really did miss Puck being there. He wasn't sure if she liked him or was just overwhelmed with taking care of Beth, but she missed Puck.

"I would have stayed," he assured her, "no matter what."

"I know you would have," she finished before wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm going to get Beth ready." She quickly made her way out of the kitchen and headed upstairs. As soon as she reached the hallway she began to cry. She couldn't take the pain in his eyes and his voice knowing that she caused it all.

Little did she know he did his own share of crying when she was upstairs. "I wouldn't have left Quinn, and I would have loved every minute of it," he whispered to himself before he popped two waffles into the toaster and poured a glass of orange juice.

About fifteen minutes later Quinn returned downstairs. She was dressed in a beautiful blue sundress, one that Finn always said brought out her eyes. Beth was also in a little dress. Hers was yellow and she had a little flower headband on her head to hold in her blonde curls. He was glad she looked so much like Quinn and not like Puck. She had his eyes but everything else was all Quinn.

"Wow, you um she looks just like you," Finn said. He wanted to say they both looked beautiful but it didn't feel like the right thing to say at the time. It didn't stop him from thinking it though. Quinn was always beautiful.

"Yeah I guess she kind of does," Quinn said as she smiled at her little girl.

Everyone always told her that her and her daughter looked alike. If she had to admit it to herself she was glad Beth looked so much like her. It made it easier for her to forget Puck. She knew after seven months that he wasn't coming back. It was just harder to move on then she thought.

"Okay I'm going to take her now and I'll see you at school," she said as she headed for the door.

"Quinn, uh, wait," he said. "I don't mind going with you to take Beth and I mean we are going to the same place for school so it is kind of pointless to go in two separate cars." He was surprised he suggested it. His whole plan was to live two separate lives like a tenant and a landlord. It had only been two weeks but already he found it hard to stay away from Quinn.

"Oh no it is okay, I mean really I wouldn't want to be a bother," Quinn said.

"It isn't a problem Quinn, besides I," Finn began before his phone interrupted him. It was a call from Rachel. He tried to ignore it but his phone was sitting on the table and Quinn quickly noticed the caller ID.

"It's fine Finn really, I have to go," she said as she quickly left the house.

"Damn," Finn said to himself after she left. He picked up his phone. "Hi Rach."

"Hi Finn are you still picking me up for school today?" she asked.

"Uh yeah of course," he said. He had totally forgotten he agreed to do it.

"Okay just making sure. I'll see you in twenty minutes. Bye," she finished and then hung up.

"I guess it is a good thing I didn't take Quinn," Finn said to himself as he grabbed his keys and closed the door. He got into his car and headed toward Rachel's house.


	7. The Ultimatum

Quinn showed up at McKinley with Beth and headed to Sue's office. As she did every day she unloaded Beth's play pen and toys and left Beth in the office.

"Q you know this can't continue forever," Sue said as Quinn put Beth down.

"I know Coach Sylvester, I'll figure something out soon," Quinn said to her coach.

"Good because if Figgins finds out you're keeping your baby here, well it won't be good and I can't have my number one Cheerio getting suspended," Sue said as she continued to look at a small notebook. "Which reminds me have you told Schuester yet?"

"No, I uh, not yet," Quinn said as she continued to get Beth settled.

"It's been weeks and you are out of time. You need to tell him today or I'll have to stop letting you keep your daughter here," Sue added as she looked up from her book.

"But Coach Sylvester this is my only option," Quinn pleaded.

"Then I suggest you tell him today," Sue said as she looked back down at her book.

"I will," Quinn said before giving Beth a quick kiss goodbye and leaving Sue's office.

Quinn walked to her locker hating what she had to do. She loved glee club. She didn't know how she was going to tell Mr. Schue that she had to quit. It was unfair that Sue was making her do it but she owed Sue her life. Sue was doing the biggest favor for her. Of course she would ask for something in return but Quinn had no idea when she first got permission to keep Beth there that it would mean having to quit glee club.

She grabbed her books and took a deep breath before entering Mr. Schue's office to tell him she was quitting.


	8. When the Truth Comes Out

"Attention, attention everyone," Mr. Schue announced once glee club began. "I know everyone is still disappointed about the loss at Regionals but it is time to start working on next year's performance. I have a few songs I have picked out that I want us all to start working on."

"Umm excuse me Mr. Schue but where is Quinn?" Rachel asked as he passed out the sheet music.

"Quinn is no longer in glee club, so we will be moving on without her," Mr. Schue clarified.

"Was it too much for her because of the baby?" Mercedes asked.

"No, at least that isn't why she told me. She just said that she was quitting because she needed to rejoin the Cheerios," Mr. Schue told his club.

Everyone was shocked but especially Finn. "Wait so she quit just to go back to the stupid Cheerios?" he asked.

"I don't think that is entirely what happened. She seemed very hesitant about it," Mr. Schue told Finn.

"No that is exactly what it is. Quinn has only ever thought of herself and well this is just another example. I can't believe I thought I could trust her again," Finn said unaware of how much he had actually said.

"What do you mean trust her again?" Rachel asked.

"Oh I just meant us in glee club, that we could trust her again," he lied trying to cover up what he said.

"Oh my God," Santana remarked. "It's you. I thought it was you but I just didn't believe it."

"What the hell is Santana talking about?" Rachel asked now as confused as everyone else.

"Rach, I don't know what she's talking about," Finn lied again.

"Oh you are sneaky and so is she for that matter," Santana said as she twirled her pencil in a circle in satisfaction. "After Quinn moved out from my place I had no idea where she went but now I know. She's been living with you. You shacked up with your ex and her baby."

"Finn is this true?" Rachel asked hoping it was just Santana trying to get a rise out of her.

Finn sighed. "She had nowhere else to go."

"How could you do this to me, to us?" Rachel asked.

"It isn't like that Rachel. She had nowhere to go and I didn't want Beth to be out on the street and," Finn tried in earnest to make Rachel understand his motives but it was to no avail.

"Just save it Finn, I've always known that you never got over Quinn. I just never expected you to play house with her and that baby," Rachel said.

Now Finn knew she was angry but she had no right to talk about Beth like that.

"First of all Rachel for the last time, I am not playing house with Quinn and Beth. I'm letting her stay in my house because she had nowhere else to go and I wasn't going to let Beth become homeless," Finn tried to tell Rachel.

"If that was the reason then why couldn't you just tell me?" Rachel asked a little calmer.

"Because I knew this is how you would react and that you would assume I was cheating on you," Finn told her.

"And that is exactly what is happening," Rachel clarified. "Look Finn I know how much you love Beth but after what Quinn did I just cannot fathom how you would be able to just let her bat her eyelashes and you would immediately let her back into your life. I just don't understand how you can just go in and play house to another man's baby."

That was it. That was enough to set off Finn. It wasn't that any of it wasn't true but that Finn had never wanted to say it out loud. He was playing house with his ex-girlfriend and his best friend's baby. Why did he do this to himself he thought. Why did he allow himself to fall right back in love with Quinn and Beth? Why was it so damn hard not to? Finn couldn't handle it anymore. He stormed out of rehearsal but turned around one last time to address Rachel.

"We're through," he said as he walked into the hallway determined to find Quinn.

Finn didn't know it yet but breaking up with Rachel like that, it would wind up hurting him in a way he could never have imagined.


	9. Broken Trust

Finn looked at his watch and it read 3:45. It was Friday so it was the one day of week that the Cheerios didn't have practice. He decided he couldn't go back to glee club because of all that happened and that he had to go home to confront Quinn. He had already broken up with Rachel but he also knew he couldn't keep doing whatever it was he was doing with Quinn. He had to ask Quinn to leave even though he didn't want her too, even though he had no idea where she would go. He couldn't allow himself to fall into this trap of a family that wasn't his. He couldn't do it to himself.

"Quinn we need to talk," Finn said as he used his keys to open the door. He found her asleep on the couch but upon hearing him come in she immediately woke up.

"Oh Finn, you're home, I just," Quinn began before he interrupted her.

"Why weren't you at glee?" he asked point blank.

"Oh I couldn't make it today," she said unsure why he was asking her so harshly.

"Really because I heard that you quit," he continued.

"Oh yeah about that," she began.

"Just save it Quinn. I can't believe you are doing this to glee club. Everyone in there supported you when Puck skipped town and you had nowhere else to go. Hell I even let you live here and started to trust you again. But then you do this, how could you?" he angrily asked.

"Finn, it's not what it looks like," she said pleading with him to drop the topic.

"It's exactly what it looks like and I shouldn't be surprised," Finn began. "Look Quinn I let you live here because you had nowhere else to go but I think it's time you leave."

"You're kicking me out?" she asked.

"I'm sorry but I can't do this anymore. You have until next week," he said.

She didn't feel like arguing with him because she knew it would go nowhere. "You want me out, fine I'm gone. I'll have all of my stuff and Beth's gone by tomorrow." With that she stormed upstairs.

Finn knew Rachel was right about him playing house but he immediately regretted kicking her out. Where would she go? What would she do? What would happen to her and Beth? He had no idea and he knew that even if he asked her to stay now she wouldn't.

As he sat on the couch thinking about everything he was disgusted by what he chose to do. "What have I done," he whispered to himself as he buried his face in his hands.


	10. What Have I Done?

Finn woke up the next morning to find the guest room empty. Quinn left and took Beth with her just like she said she would. Finn walked over to where the bed was and just sat there. He had no idea what to do now. He had to talk to Quinn. He had to get her to come back. It was just safer that way and he hated to admit it but he missed waking up to Beth's crying in the morning and Quinn soothing her back to sleep. She was perfect. She had the mom thing down and Beth was so lucky. Finn grabbed his bag and his keys and headed to school. "Quinn's a great mom," he thought, "I just wish I would have at least told her that once."

When Finn arrived at McKinley, he immediately searched out Quinn. He didn't see her car in the parking lot so he started to worry a little bit. He ran inside and started looking for her in all of the classrooms but no sign. He started walking the hallways until he passed by Sue Sylvester's office. He figured Quinn might be in there now that she was a Cheerio again. The office was locked though. He kept pounding on the door but nothing. He began to walk away but then he noticed a key hidden in the baseboards. He used the key to open the door much to Sue's disgust.

"Mr. Hudson what the hell are you doing breaking in to my office? I keep it locked for a reason," Sue began in protest. She tried to kick him out before he could see anything but it was too late.

"Ms. Sylvester I just wanted to see if you knew where, umm is that a baby in your office?" he asked confused as to what he saw.

"It is and what's it to you?" Sue said as she continued to push Finn closer to the door.

"Oh my God that's Quinn's baby, that's Beth, what is Beth doing in your office?" Finn was frantic. Now he was really worried about where Quinn might be.

"Well if you must know she has been staying here while Q went to class," Sue began. She got an odd satisfaction out of telling him the truth. She thought the truth would hurt him more when he found out where Quinn was.

"Why, why would you do that?" Finn asked.

"Oh I didn't do it out of the kindness of my heart," Sue continued. "There were conditions of course."

"Glee club," Finn said now aware of the reason why Quinn quit. He felt like such a jerk for how he treated her.

"So I guess that means she finally told William and your stupid little club she was quitting?" Sue asked looking extremely satisfied.

"Yeah yesterday," Finn mumbled still trying to make sense of things. "So where is Quinn? She isn't in school."

"I told her today was the last day I would let her keep her brat in here when she told me this morning that she was going back to glee club and quitting Cheerios," Sue said. "She said she wouldn't need me to watch her anymore and then said some sort of weird goodbye about going to find Beth new parents where she would have a better life."

"What does that mean?" Finn asked as he tried to process everything.

"It means she is giving the brat up for adoption," Sue told him point blank. "She is finally wising up and is not going to let a kid ruin her life."

"I'm taking Beth," Finn said after a couple seconds of silence. He knew what he had to do.

"Go ahead, I don't care what happens to the kid," Sue said as she began writing something down clearly done talking to Finn.

"I'll be back for her stuff later," Finn said as he grabbed Beth from the play pen and left Sue's office. He walked straight to his car and put Beth in the car seat. "Come on baby girl, we've got to stop your momma from making the biggest mistake of her life," he said to Beth as he began to drive away from McKinley's parking lot.

After pulling away from the school Finn got out his phone and dialed a number he never thought he would call again. He got voicemail.

"Puck this is Finn. I don't know why you did what you did but if you ever really loved your daughter you'll call me back and tell me the name of the adoption agency you and Quinn were looking at it when she was pregnant."

Finn waited patiently for Puck to call him but after fifteen minutes he got no response. He knew he was on his own. He tried to think back to when he still thought Beth was his. They didn't really discuss adoption because it was too early in the pregnancy.

"Think Hudson, think, she must have mentioned something," he said to himself as he racked his brain for any memory of an adoption agency.

Then it came to him. SunLife Meadows Child Services. Quinn mentioned it once saying that her aunt adopted one of her cousins from there. It was a long shot but it was the only lead Finn had to go on. He plugged the place into his gps and drove as fast as he could, hoping he would catch Quinn before it was too late.


	11. Our Home

**Just wanted to give a quick thank you to all of you who have reviewed, added to favorites or story alerts. It really means a lot that you all are reading and enjoying the story and I hope you continue to read and enjoy it. There are a lot of plot twists and up and downs to come so stay tuned! **

Twenty minutes later Finn pulled into the parking lot at SunLife and noticed Quinn's car. "Oh thank God," he said as he took Beth out of her car seat and went inside. "I hope it isn't too late."

Finn burst through the doors and looked around. He didn't see Quinn.

"Excuse me can I help you?" a woman at the desk asked.

"Yeah I um, I'm looking for Quinn Fabray, is she here?" he asked panicky.

"Yes she is currently with our adoption consultant picking families for her, oh this must be Beth," the woman observed. "So I'm guessing you are the baby's father?"

Finn answered without thinking. He wished he was Beth's father so he figured it would count for something. "Yeah so can I go in and help her pick the families?"

"Yes fathers are welcome, she is in that room right there," the woman said as she pointed him to Quinn's room. He gave her a small thank you and was off to convince Quinn to change her mind. Finn found the room and walked right through the door. He noticed Quinn talking to a woman in a suit. Both women noticed Finn too.

"Finn, what are you doing here?" Quinn asked. "And why do you have Beth?"

"Quinn can I talk to you outside for a minute," he said.

"No Finn, I'm doing what I have to do and you can't change my mind," Quinn said as she turned to face away from her daughter and ex.

"Can I please just have a minute?" he asked.

"Honey, maybe you should talk to him. You have to be 100% sure about your decision and when two parents are involved we like to have them on the same page. Take all of the time that you need, I'll be next door," the adoption agent said as she left the room and closed the door.

"Quinn you have to rethink this," Finn said as he moved closer to her.

"I have to do this. It is what is best for her," Quinn argued inching further towards the corner of the room.

"You're what is best for her. You are her mom," Finn said trying to get through to Quinn.

"I'm not what is best for her. I can't give her what she needs, what she wants. I can't even afford to put her in a real daycare. I can't give her the life she deserves. I have to give her up," Quinn said as she turned to face Finn and the little girl in his arms.

"Quinn listen to me," he began. "I know you can do this. You are a great mom. You will find a way to make it work."

"Finn, I don't even have a home. How am I supposed to raise a kid?" she reminded him.

Shit. He knew kicking her out was the wrong move. "You can come back and live with me, for as long as you need to," he said.

"I'm not going to live somewhere I'm not wanted," she said to him. "You hate me remember? That isn't healthy for a baby to be around."

"I don't hate you, look it's complicated," Finn said as he fumbled for the right words. "Yesterday I was upset because I thought you quit glee club for Cheerios but I didn't know why. Now I do and I get it. I was also upset because Rachel said some things about how I was playing house with a family that wasn't mine and it got to me I guess. I realized I started to become close to you and Beth again and that it wasn't worth getting hurt again. I couldn't sort out my feelings and I just thought you were using me. I regret everything I said. Please come back."

"You can apologize all you want but you still said it and that means you have thought it," Quinn said sadly. "I have no choice but to go and I can't do this with Beth by myself. I love her so I have to do what is best for her."

Finn was running out of leverage. He needed to think of something fast. "You won't have to do this alone. I'll, I'll help you raise her." The words came out of his mouth faster than he realized what he had just said. Well, he couldn't take it back now. He was in it and part of him, the impulsive part was glad he said it.

"I can't ask you to do that Finn," Quinn said still surprised that Finn offered to help her raise Beth.

"I want to," he said. "I really do. I never stopped loving Beth and it would mean the world to me if I could help you raise her and all."

"You would really do that?" Quinn asked stunned at Finn's sudden change of heart.

"You aren't alone in this. Just come home please," Finn pleaded.

"You said come home," Quinn observed.

"My home is your home now," Finn clarified. "You, me and Beth. Please just say you'll keep her and let me try."

"I thought I had no options, I thought I had to give her up but I didn't want to for a second," Quinn began, "but you are giving me an out and I'd be a fool not to take it."

"So it's a yes?" he asked optimistically.

"It is a yes," she smiled.

"Did you hear that Beth," Finn said to the small child in his arms, "you and your momma are coming back to my house, our house."

Beth gave Finn a smile and that told him that this was the right decision. He had no idea what would happen with him and Quinn. They weren't agreeing to be a couple or even friends just yet. Finn just knew he had to convince her to keep Beth. He loved that little girl and couldn't say goodbye to her or Quinn for that matter. Seeing her smile made him realize he had made the right decision.

**So what do you guys think so far? Will it be a happy ending for Finn and Quinn or will something else come along to change that?**


	12. We Belong Together

(4 Months Later)

It had been four months since Quinn moved back in with Finn and since that time the pair had gotten much closer. They became good friends but still were hesitant about starting a relationship. Quinn maintained that Beth had fallen in love with Finn and that if anything went wrong she couldn't take that stable family life away from her daughter. Finn agreed and they both decided that just being friends was the best option.

Despite the fact that they agreed to be friends, Finn couldn't help but find himself falling in love with Quinn all over again. He tried not to but she was Quinn and he was Finn and it just seemed so right. He decided however that he could love her without being with her and when she suggested they just stay friends for Beth's sake he had no choice but to agree.

(1 Week Later)

Quinn was making herself dinner while Finn was playing with Beth in the living room. It surprised both of them when Beth opened her mouth to say her first word.

"Come on Beth say momma," Finn said as he and Quinn had tried to get her to say her first word. "Mooooommmmmmaaa," he dragged out.

"It's no use Quinn," Finn called from the other room. He began to walk toward the kitchen when Beth tugged on his pants and said, "dadda."

Quinn turned around from the kitchen and Finn did a double take. "Did she just say?" he asked as Quinn came back into the room.

"What did you say sweetie?" Quinn asked as she stood next to Finn.

Beth repeated, "dadda."

"Oh my God Finn she said her first word," Quinn excitedly exclaimed. She jumped into Finn's arms and gave him a hug and that is when it happened. He couldn't help himself. As she pulled away from the hug he pulled her back in towards himself and kissed her on the lips. The kiss lasted for a few seconds before Quinn finally pulled away.

"What was that?" she asked Finn.

"I love you," was all he could respond. "I've loved you since the day we met and have never stopped. I can't live with you and not be with you. I've been thinking about this for a while now and I know I can't live without you." And then, Finn got on his knee.

"Finn, what are you doing?" Quinn asked as she tried to hide her excitement.

"Quinn Fabray, will you marry me?" he asked as he pulled a ring out of his pocket.

"Finn, I don't know what to say," she said.

"Just say yes," he told her.

Quinn was silent for a few seconds. Her and Finn had discussed how being in a relationship was a bad idea. She loved him though. She never stopped. In her mind she figured that they could figure it out. They would make a relationship work this time. No secrets and no lies. They could do this.

"Okay," she said.

"Okay?" he asked excitedly.

Quinn shook her head. "Of course I'll marry you Finn Hudson!"

Finn picked her up and gave her a giant hug and kiss. He then picked up Beth. "Did you hear that angel, your momma and I are getting married!"

"Dadda," she repeated and both Finn and Quinn laughed.

"I guess you really are her daddy now," Quinn said as she smiled at her fiancé.

Finn laughed. "I guess so."

And with that, six short months later, Finn and Quinn were married.


	13. I Just Thought You Should Know

**Hey guys sorry this is coming up late. I'm trying to get them up before 4pm but today I had a crazy busy day. My college was hosting its annual quidditch tournament and I had to be there to help. Just wanted to let you guys know though I certainly didn't forget. I promised two chapters a day until the story was finished and I plan on delivering just that! That being said, this chapter is kind of lengthy so I hope you all don't hate that it will be the only one I am putting up for the day.**

(3 Months Later)

"Good morning Mrs. Hudson," Finn said as he came downstairs and kissed Quinn who was feeding the now almost two year old Beth.

"Finn, it's been three months since we've been married. You don't have to call me Mrs. Hudson every time you see me," Quinn said.

"Do you not like it?" Finn asked.

"I love it," Quinn corrected him.

"Then I'll keep doing it," Finn told her. "I just can't get enough of saying it because it just makes me realize how real this is."

"It's as real as it gets Mr. Hudson," Quinn smiled.

"Damn, I love you," Finn smiled back.

"You're okay I guess," Quinn laughed as Finn made a face. "I love you too."

Quinn finished giving Beth her breakfast and then handed her over to Finn.

"You're taking her to your mom's today, right?" Quinn asked.

She and Finn had worked out a plan once they got married. Not only did Finn's mom let them have Finn's childhood home for them to use to raise Beth but she also offered to watch her granddaughter for them.

"Yeah and then you'll pick her up after work?" Finn asked to clarify.

"Yes, does your mom know I'm coming?" Quinn asked a little tentatively.

"I told her last night you'd be doing pick-up," Finn said as he observed Quinn's nervousness.

"Okay good," Quinn said.

"You don't have to be nervous Quinn," Finn said. "My mom loves you really."

"I know, I know it's just," Quinn began before sighing, "I still kind of think she hasn't forgiven me for everything and sometimes I feel awkward when it is just the two of us."

"I promise you Quinn ever since the day I brought you home as my wife that she is okay with us," Finn said as he tried to calm his wife's nerves. "Neither of us care about the past because right here, right now, this is all that matters. You, me and Beth are a family. It doesn't matter how we got there but we're there now and I wouldn't have it any other way. I honestly don't even consider Beth not to be my biological daughter because it just feels like she is and in all the ways that matter I am her dad."

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that," Quinn said.

"Is something wrong with Beth?" Finn asked with a look of concern on his face.

"No nothing is wrong. Everything is right Finn and I just want to make it official," Quinn said to him.

"What do you mean official?" Finn asked as he tried to hide his confusion.

"I had these drawn up a few weeks ago," Quinn said as she pulled a few papers from her briefcase. "This is what I always wanted and now that we are married and are a family I don't see why we can't make this official and make it the way it is supposed to be."

"Quinn, are you asking what I think you are?" Finn asked with a smile on his face, pretty sure he already knew.

"Do you want to adopt Beth?" Quinn asked as she handed him the papers to sign grinning from ear to ear. She was positive he would say yes.

Finn looked at the papers for a few minutes before putting them down without signing them.

"Is something wrong?" Quinn asked, curious as to why he didn't sign the papers.

"No, nothing's wrong. I mean Quinn this is amazing. This is everything I've always wanted," Finn began, "but now that it is happening, I just don't think I can."

"Wait why?" Quinn asked. "I didn't mean to offend you if that's what I did I just thought this is what you wanted."

"No Quinn it's not that. You didn't offend me and this is what I want, but," Finn paused.

"But what?" Quinn asked a little more sharply.

"Puck," Finn simply said.

"What about Puck?" Quinn asked harshly upon hearing his name. It had been over a year since he had crossed her mind.

"He was my friend and I've forgiven him for what happened between you two and I don't think I could do this to him," Finn said as he pushed the papers toward the opposite side of the table.

"Finn, you wouldn't be doing anything to Puck that he didn't already do," Quinn said unsure why they were having a conversation about Puck. "He gave up all of his parental rights the day that he left Beth when she was seven months old. You stepped up to the plate when you didn't have to. You've been her father since that day. You've helped her walk, talk and have taught her so many things. You've seen her smile and have been there for her firsts. It's been you Finn, not Puck. You have been her father in every way that counts so I don't see why we can't just make it official."

Finn thought about what Quinn said and realized she was right. Still he didn't just want to take Beth away from Puck. He knew that he left but despite everything, Beth was still Puck's daughter and Finn didn't feel right about taking that away from him. He knew what it felt like to have a child taken away and he didn't want anybody else to feel that.

"Puck is still her father Quinn and although I know you are right about everything, I would still feel better if I could at least ask him first," Finn said.

Quinn didn't understand why Finn felt the need to ask Puck for permission to be a father to Beth because in her mind he already was. Quinn always believed that Puck stopped caring when he left and in her mind he stopped being Beth's dad when he did that.

"Fine," Quinn muttered as she pulled out her phone and searched for Puck's number. He had called her about five months ago to give it to her in case she ever needed it. She didn't know why but she decided to save it. She jotted it down on a piece of paper and placed it on top of the adoption papers. "Here," she said to Finn as she laid it down.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Puck's new number," Quinn clarified. "If you are going to ask him permission you have to call him. The old number won't work either, so he called me some time back and gave me this one."

"Oh thanks," Finn said as he starting to input the number into his phone. Now he knew why Puck never texted him back. "And Quinn, I'm sorry if this is making you upset but I can't in good conscience do this if it will hurt his feelings."

"Whatever," Quinn said as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door, "you've got to do what you've got to do just remember he didn't care if he hurt mine or Beth's feelings when he decided to leave."

Quinn then slammed the door and headed to her car. She knew she didn't really have a right to be mad at Finn and she knew that deep down it wasn't Finn who she was mad at. She was still mad at Puck. How could he just leave like that? He didn't even say goodbye. She always told people that she was mad he left because of Beth but truth was she was in love with him. They had gotten close and she fell for him. She thought they would be a family and she thought that he loved her too. Him leaving just confirmed her fears and broke her heart. In the end it worked out because Quinn reunited with her true love, Finn, but it still hurt that Puck just left without a goodbye. If he loved her she reasoned, he wouldn't have done that.

Finn waited about five minutes after Quinn left to call Puck. He had no idea what was going to happen considering he hadn't spoken to his former friend in almost two years but he had to give it a shot.

Finn had decided that even if Puck said no, he would still okay the adoption. He just wanted Puck to say yes or at least to know about it. He wanted Beth to be his so bad but he still decided he would feel better about doing the adoption if Puck said okay.

He dialed the number and it rang a few times but finally Puck picked up.

"Hello," Puck asked when he picked up the phone. It was a new phone and he hadn't added any of his old contacts except for his mom and Quinn. He didn't know it was Finn who was calling. He only picked up because he saw it was Quinn. He would have been lying if he said he wasn't happy to see her name pop up on the caller ID.

"Yeah hi, Puck," Finn answered.

Puck waited a few seconds. He recognized the voice. "Finn?" he asked instantly saddened by not hearing Quinn's voice on the other end of the line.

"Yeah it's Finn, how've you been man?" Finn asked trying to keep it loose.

"It's been pretty good," Puck answered unsure of why Finn was calling him and from Quinn's phone nonetheless.

"That's good," Finn said.

A few seconds went by before Puck finally spoke. "So what do you want Finn?"

"What do I want?" Finn asked. "Can't a guy just call his bro to catch up?"

"Yeah but this isn't the case," Puck said. "I left Lima over a year and a half ago and if you wanted to catch up, you would have called me back then. But since we were still fighting at that point I didn't see it necessary to let you know I was leaving."

"Okay so I guess you aren't in the mood for small talk then," Finn said.

"Not when I know you want something," Puck said. "Just out with it, tell me what it is."

"Okay I'm just going to get straight to the point," Finn said, "it's about Beth."

Puck froze. Finn was calling about his daughter, the one he left when she was just a baby, the one he missed more than anything. Not a day went by that he didn't think about Beth. Questions ran through his head. He knew she was almost two but other than that he knew nothing. He wondered what she looked like, what she liked, her favorites color, and first words. He knew relatively nothing about his daughter and he hated it.

"Puck, are you still there?" Finn asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah, I'm uh I'm still here; what about my daughter, I uh mean Beth?" Puck asked.

"Well um I don't know how to say this but Quinn and I are together and we got married," Finn said.

"Oh that's uh, that's good for you guys," Puck said. His heart dropped a little. He always knew deep down Quinn would end up back with Finn but that didn't stop him from loving her and missing her.

"That's not all," Finn added.

"What else?" Puck asked almost in desperation. He didn't know if anything could be worse than losing the girl he loved.

"Well uh I don't know exactly how to say this but Quinn wants me to and I want to also because I've been spending so much time with her and I really feel like her," Finn stopped when Puck cut him off.

"Father," Puck said. "You feel like Beth's father. I know what you want Finn."

"You do?" he asked glad that he didn't have to say it out loud.

"You want to adopt Beth," Puck clarified.

"Yeah," Finn said quietly.

"So why are you calling me?" Puck asked kind of angry. He knew that he left Beth and Quinn but he had his reasons. He regretted it every single day but he was still Beth's father.

"To uh ask your permission," Finn mumbled.

"You're joking right?" Puck asked. Finn should already know the answer would be no.

"No, I uh wanted to see if you'd be okay with it," Finn said.

"Now I know you must be joking," Puck said. "My answer is no. My answer will always be no and you know that. I'm not just going to let you adopt my little girl and not have anything to say about it. No, just no. Finn, I love her and I am her father. I left because it was what was best for her."

"You left because you were selfish," Finn said to Puck after getting a little heated himself.

"Excuse me?" Puck said.

"Did you even think about how you leaving would affect Quinn or your daughter? Did you ever realize how hard it would be for Quinn to raise a baby when still in high school by herself? She kept her because you promised to help out, to be her father and you bolted. You didn't care enough to stay," Finn said.

"Finn, I know you're pissed and I am too," Puck said. "Leaving was the biggest mistake I ever made in my life."

"Then why didn't you come back?" Finn asked.

"Because I just, I couldn't, not after how I left," Puck sighed. He had asked himself that same question every day, why didn't he come back? He honestly had no answer.

"Look I know this whole thing is hard on you Puck but you're not here and unless you plan on coming back and even then I don't know how Quinn would feel, but if you don't come home, I'm going to go through with the adoption," Finn told his former friend.

"So you were never really asking my permission. You planned on doing this from the beginning," Puck said.

"Look, I wanted you to be okay with this or at least to know I was doing it, but yes I planned on doing it from the beginning," Finn truthfully told Puck.

"Well since my opinion doesn't matter then just do it," Puck told him. "I don't care and it wouldn't matter if I did because you need to do this, for whatever reason you have to make my daughter yours. Fine. Adopt her, you have my blessing." Puck almost hung up but Finn stopped him.

"Your daughter will know about you Puck that I swear," Finn said as he heard Puck sniffle through the phone. "She'll always be your daughter."

Puck sighed. He didn't know why he was mad at Finn. None of this was Finn's fault. He didn't leave. He didn't abandon Quinn and Beth. To be honest Puck was grateful Finn stepped up because at least that way he knew his daughter would have a family, a home and two parents who loved her. She was always meant to be Finn's anyway so it made sense. He knew that one day this might happen. He just didn't know how much it would hurt when it did.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I know you are just doing the right thing and I owe you," Puck began. "I guess I should thank you for being there for Quinn and Beth when I wasn't able to. It means a lot to me knowing my daughter is safe and happy and has a home and two parents who love her. I'm just sorry I couldn't be her father like I intended."

"I'll take good care of her," Finn said as he fought back tears of his own.

"You better because I'd kill you if anything happened to her or Quinn," Puck added with a smile. "Just promise me you'll love her the way she deserves."

"I already do Puck but I promise I will always love her and I'll always love her little girl," Finn said.

He knew Puck was referring to Quinn. Finn always knew that sleeping with Quinn was more than just a one night stand for Puck. He would never admit it to him, but Finn knew that Puck loved Quinn just as much as he loved his daughter.

"Thanks Finn," Puck said glad that he didn't have to mention it, mention Quinn. He was glad Finn already knew what he intended.

"Yupp, bye Puck, I'll talk to you later," Finn said before hanging up.

Although it was rough, Finn was happy knowing that Puck accepted it. He may not have liked it but at least he accepted it. Finn also could see it was breaking his former best friend's heart. He just wished Puck would decide to come home but he knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Finn pulled the papers in front of him and signed them. He left them on the kitchen table as a surprise to Quinn when she came home. He grabbed Beth from her play pen and got her ready to take to his mom's before he headed off to school.

**Puck is back in the story, it is about time. What are all your thoughts on this? Will Puck somehow be able to ruin Finn and Quinn's happiness? Will he want his daughter back? Review and let me know what you guys think will happen in the next chapter!**


	14. Elizabeth FabrayHudson

"Finn, I'm home," Quinn said as she walked into the house with Beth in her arms. She put Beth in her play pen and then headed to the kitchen to begin dinner. She knew when Finn got home he would have to eat dinner right away because he had work. Once she got into the kitchen she noticed the papers on the table with a note attached.

"Mrs. Quinn Hudson, hmm I like the sound of that. What do you think about Ms. Elizabeth Fabray-Hudson? I love you, Finn."

Quinn smiled at seeing the note. She then lifted it off of the paper and saw his signature and initialed mark on the adoption papers.

"Looks like you have a daddy and a new name now," Quinn said to her little girl. Beth smiled and said, "daddy."

"Yeah that's right," Quinn said. "Finn is your daddy. He always has been but now it will be official and legal."

Finn walked in the door about 15 minutes later. He went right over to Beth and kissed her and then saw his wife making dinner in the kitchen.

"Hey Quinn," he said as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"What no Mrs. Hudson?" Quinn asked playfully.

"Very funny," Finn said.

"I noticed you signed the papers," Quinn said as she gave Finn a plate of food. "So Puck really okayed it?"

Finn wanted to tell her about his conversation with Puck but he figured it would just make her upset. "Yeah," he said, "Puck said he wanted her to be happy and he was glad she was going to have two loving parents who cared for her."

"He really said that?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah, he still cares about you and her and wants her to have a father; the kind of father he knew he couldn't be," Finn said after taking a mouthful of food. "Dinner's great."

"Thanks," Quinn said. She was still thinking about what Puck told Finn. "So Puck really said he cares about Beth and uh me?"

"I didn't think you cared," Finn smirked.

"I don't it's just I didn't think he did either," Quinn said as she began to get Beth's food ready. Her mind was already off thinking about a thousand different things.

"You still care about him, don't you?" Finn asked.

"No, of course not," Quinn said defensively.

"Quinn, I know you," Finn said. "It's okay if you still care. He does for you and Beth."

"I guess I do a little," Quinn said as she began feeding Beth. "I mean we were together for seven months after Beth was born and I don't know I guess I cared about him more than I thought."

"Do you love him?" Finn asked a little surprised he was saying it but eager to hear the answer.

"I did, at least I think I did," Quinn began. "I mean both of us knew we were only together because of Beth and we only fell for each other because of Beth but I still started to love him when I got to know him better and when I saw how perfect he was with Beth. It just never made sense why he left."

"You miss him don't you?" Finn asked again.

"A little but it's nothing," Quinn added. "I miss that he isn't here for Beth but it doesn't matter anymore because you are the one I want. You are the one I've always wanted and you are the perfect dad to Beth. I wouldn't change it for the world." Quinn lied about that last part. She loved Finn and wanted to be with Finn but she also wanted Puck to come back for Beth, yeah just for Beth.

"I love you Quinn and I know you love me too," Finn told her. "I get that you miss him and it is okay to miss him and to still care about him. I miss him too. He was my best friend for most of my life."

"I guess we both miss him then," Quinn said. "And there's our daughter who doesn't even know he exists."

"I want her to know about him Quinn," Finn said as he finished his dinner and prepared to leave for work. "I told him she would."

"I guess I kind of want that too," Quinn sighed. "It's just going to be hard to explain to her that you aren't her dad."

"Yeah I know baby," Finn said as he wrapped his arms around Quinn. "But we can deal with that when she's older. I've got to go. Bye girls!"

"Bye daddy," Quinn said as he left.

"Bye- bye," Beth chimed in after.

Finn smiled and then closed the door and headed off to work.

As soon as she realized he was gone, her mind wandered to Puck. It had been months since thoughts of him crossed her mind but now they wouldn't leave. All she could think about was Puck. How much she missed him, how much she needed him and how much she still loved him. She imagined what life would be like with him and seeing him every day. She thought about Beth calling him daddy and him seeing all of her firsts. Just when she thought she got over him, here were the thoughts and the feelings, flooding right back.

"Damn" she said to herself. "I was so damn close."


	15. What I Left Behind

Little did she know but he was thinking about her too. He had always thought about her but since Finn's phone call, she was all he could think about. He hated himself for leaving. He hated how much he still loved and cared about and missed not just Beth but Quinn. They were a hole in his life that he learned no amount of girls or success could replace. Puck knew what he had to do.

He canceled his appointments for the week, broke up with his girlfriend and booked plane tickets. He had to do it. He didn't know what would happen but he knew he had to at least see them again. He was going back to Lima that night.

Puck packed up a few belongings and headed to the airport. He told his mom he was coming home so he knew he had a place to stay. He made sure not to tell anyone else he was coming back to Lima but he ran into someone, a very unexpected someone at the airport.

As Puck paced around the terminal waiting for his flight thinking about what to say to Quinn he bumped into a familiar face.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he said as he helped the woman pick up a stack of papers which he inadvertently knocked over.

"You better be," she yelled, "I have a presentation and a plane to catch and now my papers are all messed up and," at that point the woman looked at the man she was yelling at. "Oh my God, Puck?"

"Yeah, wait how do you know my," he began before looking up at the woman. He recognized her now. "Santana?"

"In the flesh," Santana responded as she bent down to help Puck pick up the papers. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I uh, I live here now," Puck said still reeling at seeing his ex-girlfriend.

"You live in the airport really?" Santana mused sarcastically as she punched a few numbers into her Blackberry.

"No I meant," Puck began, "you know what I meant Santana."

He finished picking up the papers and then took the seat next to her. He read the heading on the cover page. "Business Proposal to turn McKinley High into a," he stopped reading.

"You want to turn McKinley into office buildings?" he asked in disbelief. "Our McKinley in Lima?"

Santana sighed. "Well, I guess all of you would have found out eventually. Yes, the company I work for in San Diego wants to move business east. They suggested Ohio and I told them about Lima. After some research they decided that McKinley would be the perfect place to build the offices. So, I'm headed there tonight to give the proposal this weekend."

"Oh I see," Puck said as he continued to glance over the papers.

"Don't give me that look Puckerman," Santana snarled. "Look, I'm not exactly thrilled about this either. I had some great times in that building."

"Sex in Mr. Furlong's math class," Puck smiled. "Sex in the band room, sex in the locker room. Yeah, definitely some good times."

"You forgot about my favorite one," Santana smirked. "Sex in Coach Sylvester's office."

"Right, you were definitely bragging about that one for months," Puck reminded his former on again, off again girlfriend or rather sex buddy.

"Yeah that was a good one," Santana smiled thinking about the memory. "You and I did have some fun in high school."

"Yeah, I don't know about that," Puck said. "We got into a lot of trouble because of that sex."

"You got into trouble because of it but that was because you fell in love with your baby mama," Santana said. "Which makes me question, why exactly are you in this airport anyway?"

"Just uh some routine travel," he muttered, "for the uh, for the job."

"Now why is it that I don't believe you," Santana announced. "Oh wait I know why because I've listened to your music."

"Excuse me?" Puck asked.

"You know the songs you sing as part of your 'job'," she said to him.

"You know about that?" he asked curiously. If Santana knew there was nothing keeping Quinn or worse Finn from knowing.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out that Code Red was you Puck," Santana said to him. "I mean come on that was the word we used during sex when we heard footsteps in the halls. It's why we almost never got caught."

"Oh yeah," Puck remembered. He had been trying to figure out where it came from. Now he knew.

"So anyway if the name wasn't a dead giveaway then your songs sure as hell were," Santana pointed out. "My Best Friend's Girl, Can't Stop Loving You, No Use Trying, Baby Girl, Just One More Night and of course Little Angel."

"You listen to my music?" he asked still hoping that Quinn and Finn weren't able to discern the meaning of his lyrics.

"I've got all three albums, although you aren't my favorite singer, but hey I had to keep up with what you were doing somehow," Santana told him. "Your second album was the best though; I think out of all of them it professed your love for Quinn the most which is so obvious by the way."

"Wait what?" he asked her.

"You know what I mean," she smirked. "Every single one of your songs on that album are about her or Beth." "Yeah I guess they are," Puck said finally letting his guard down. He had no choice now that Santana knew.

"Although it is funny because when I left Lima for that summer, you were still there with Quinn raising that kid of yours as a happy family. Then the next thing I heard from you was Code Red singing songs about missing the love of your life and your baby girl. When I came back for junior year you were gone," Santana continued. "Puck what the hell happened?"

"It's a long story San," he sighed. He really wasn't in the mood to recount all of his mistakes. He pulled a picture out of his wallet of him, Quinn and Beth shortly after they came home from the hospital. They were a happy family and everything was perfect. Puck was in his thoughts as a message came over the loud speaker.

_Attention all passengers headed from San Diego International Airport to Cleveland area Airport on flight 34 to Lima, Ohio, your flight has been delayed a few hours due to wind conditions. Please be patient and wait for further instructions._

"Great," Puck mumbled.

"Perfect," Santana grinned. "Now we've got plenty of time for you to tell me this long story."

Puck sighed again. "Now I know why I hate you sometimes. You don't let things go." He waited a few seconds before giving in to Santana's pleas. "Fine, I'll tell you."

About fifteen minutes later Puck finally finished telling Santana about him and Quinn. How they got together, broke up. How he left her and the baby. How his entire musical career was dedicated to both of them. How Quinn had moved in with Finn. How they started dating and got married and how Finn was adopting Beth.

"Wow," was all the Latina could muster.

"Yeah wow is right," Puck responded.

"So she's married to Finn now and he's adopting your kid?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's what is happening," he sighed.

"And you really don't have anything to say about this, I mean about Finn adopting Beth?" she asked again.

"What can I say San, I left. I have no say over what goes on with Quinn or my daughter anymore," Puck said.

"You do have a say and that is why you are going back to Lima, to win her back and to get your baby girl back," Santana smiled when she realized she was right. "Yeah I guess that was the plan but now that I think about it I think it is a bad idea," Puck said still trying to figure out if interrupting Quinn's life was a good decision.

"You're not going anywhere Puckerman," Santana said as she grabbed him by the arm. "If I'm going to Lima then so are you. We both have destinies we need to confront, once and for all."

"So this is more than just a business trip?" Puck asked his friend.

"If you must know yes," Santana told him. Enough was enough he had to know the truth. "I realized when you canceled your concert that you were heading back to Lima and I knew that I had to talk to you."

"Talk to me?" Puck questioned. He was getting confused.

"Yeah, so I hoped to run into you in Lima but we are here so it is just as well," she said. "Look Puck there is something I haven't told you but that I should have when it happened. It is just well one day you were there and then the next you were gone and I had no idea where you went."

"Santana what are you talking about, what is going on?" Puck said as he noticed the seriousness in Santana's face.

"We had sex that night after you and Quinn got into a fight. It was about two weeks before you left. You guys broke up for some time but then got back together so I figured I shouldn't tell you and then you left," she began.

"San, please don't tell me what I think you're saying," Puck said. At this point his mind was spinning in a million directions.

"His name is Caleb Anthony. He is seven months old and he is your son," Santana admitted much to Puck's shock and dismay.

"This can't be happening Santana, this just cannot be happening," he said in disbelief as he got up from his seat and began to pace again.

"It's going to be okay Puck," she said as she grabbed for his shoulder again. This time he pulled away.

"It is not going to be okay Santana, it is far from going to be okay," Puck said angrily. "I have a daughter who is two years old and the woman I love waiting in Ohio. I left them when she was a baby and have regretted it every day of my life since. Now on the day I plan on catching a plane to go see my girls I find out that I have another kid. I find out that I have a son with someone who I never actually dated but had sex with in high school. So no Santana it is most certainly not going to be okay."

"Please Puck, you have to understand," Santana pleaded with him.

"Understand what Santana? Understand that you had my kid and didn't even tell me? Understand that that stupid drunken night I spent with you before I left meant something? I can't do that," he told her. "Part of the reason why I left Quinn and Beth in the first place was because after one damn fight I was just so willing to cheat on her. I couldn't live with myself for cheating on her and it just proved to me I wasn't the person she deserved. Do you remember that night San?"


	16. He's My Son and I'm Not Leaving

**Hey guys, I just wanted to thank you all again for reading and reviewing. I plan to respond to each and every one of you because I appreciate you taking time to review. For those who sign their reviews, I am sending PMs and for those who don't I have decided to respond to your reviews at the beginning of each chapter.**

**corydiannaforlife: Have you been reading my mind lol? I'm not going to give away plot lines but you know Quinn's character. I can't imagine she would be thrilled to find out Puck's cheating on her resulted in him having a kid. As for Quinn and Finn having kids, we will have to see what happens!**

**Tessie: This and last chapter might explain what I decided to do with Puck. It is not that I wanted to make him a bad guy but whom better to be an antagonist to Finn and Quinn's happiness than her ex?**

**SS: No plans to move so far forward in the future at this time. Still a lot of interesting story to develop before that happens. **

**fff, d, tom, Tessie and h: Thanks for liking this story! It just started as an idea and it became something so much better. I like it more on paper than in my head.**

**Thanks again and keep the reviews coming! I love to hear what you all have to say and your ideas/opinions of the story.**

_-__**FLASHBACK**__-_

"Quinn, I don't know why you have to be such a bitch at times, lighten up," Puck snapped at her as he cracked open a beer.

"What did you just call me?" Quinn retorted.

"A bitch. Sometimes you can be such a bitch," he said unaware of how much he was hurting her.

"Well I'm sorry you think I'm such a bitch but I saw you with her. You and Santana were practically all over each other. What the hell is your excuse for that?" Quinn screamed at Puck.

"Quinn, how many times do I have to tell you that San and I are just friends. You are so fucking paranoid about everything that maybe, maybe," he paused as he realized his next thoughts would be a mistake.

"Maybe what Puck?" she asked him.

"Maybe I should just prove you right and sleep with her," he finished. He regretted it immediately.

Quinn was taken aback. She honestly didn't think that Puck would cheat on her. Sure he was a womanizer and sure he had a history with cheating but he always told her she was different. He said she was the one and she believed it.

"You know what Puck fine, I don't care," Quinn said through obviously tear filled eyes. "Sleep with whoever the hell you want, just don't come back here if you do." As Quinn wiped her eyes to try to hide from Puck that she was crying he softened a bit. He never intended to be that harsh in the first place.

"Quinn I'm sorry, I didn't mean," he was stopped by the sound of crying. It was Beth. Quinn moved to head upstairs to get her but Puck grabbed her arm. He could tell now how visibly upset she was. He hated himself for doing this to her.

"No," Quinn said as she glared at him. "She is my daughter, I'll get her."

"She's mine too Quinn," he said as he watched her ascend the steps.

She turned around for a second to say one last thing to him. Little did she know but it was the last thing she would say to him. "Sometimes I wish she wasn't," Quinn whispered hoping Puck heard her. Then she looked at him with a serious face. She was done and it showed. "I can't do this anymore Puck. This family of ours it isn't real and it doesn't work. I thought Beth and I could change you but we can't. You are who you are and I should have known better than to think I would be the one to make you any different. I'm taking Beth and we'll be gone in the morning."

"Where are you going to go?" Puck asked.

"Anywhere but here," Quinn told him. With that she was gone.

He was devastated but he knew she was right. He then called the one person he shouldn't have and that is when it happened.

-_**FLASHBACK**_-

"It was one dumb fight because I couldn't be just a one woman man," Puck sighed.

"It was more than that Puck. You know the connection we had was special," Santana told him.

"We felt comfortable with each other," Puck corrected her. "You were afraid to tell Brittany how you felt and I went to you running scared whenever I had problems with Quinn."

"I loved you. You were more than just a sex buddy. We became friends and I fell in love with you," Santana admitted to him afraid of what he would say.

"You fell in love with me?" he asked surprised. "What about Brittany?"

"The more time I spent with you the more I realized I didn't love Brittany that way. I will always love her platonically as my best friend but I realized that it was you and she realized she loved Artie," Santana continued to tell him.

"You love me?" he asked again.

"Yes Puck. Despite my better judgment I love you. That is why I feel so bad about what happened between you and Quinn. I know for you it was just sex but I had an agenda. I wanted you to leave her for me," she said as she continued to pour her guts out to the love of her life.

"Santana, I don't," he began before she interrupted.

"I get it, you don't love me. I didn't expect you too. Your heart is with Quinn and has been since you found out she got pregnant. I never expected anything from this but when I became pregnant, well I got this stupid idea in my head that since I was having your baby you would leave her for me," Santana admitted.

"I'm sorry," Puck said. He really had no idea how to respond to her declarations of love.

"You don't have to be sorry for not loving me, I get it," she sighed. "I should be apologizing to you. I should have visited you when I found out where you were. I should have told you about Caleb Anthony."

"Caleb Anthony," Puck repeated. "That's my son." It felt so weird to say.

Santana smiled, "that's your son." She fiddled through her purse and pulled out her wallet. "Here are some pictures if you uh want to see."

"I'd love to," Puck said as he took the photos from Santana. He looked at them intently for a few minutes convinced he was staring at pictures of a younger version of himself. He even noticed in one that the baby was sporting a Mohawk. It made him smile.

"He looks just like me," Puck said as he handed the photos back to Santana.

"A spitting image," Santana added. They both laughed.

It was quiet for a few minutes before Puck spoke up. "Do you think it would be okay if I uh, if I met him and got to know him?" he asked.

"I would want nothing more than for to see your little boy," Santana smiled. "In fact since our flight is delayed for some time, do you think that maybe, I don't know, you might want to go see him now?"

"Now?" Puck asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "I mean I know you want to get back to Lima to see Quinn and Beth but do you think one more night would hurt. I only live about twenty minutes away."

Puck thought about it for a few seconds but he reluctantly said yes. "I'd love to," he responded still unsure of what this all meant. He was just getting used to the idea of being back in Beth's life but now he found out he had a son. He didn't love Santana. He didn't want to be with Santana, but she had a kid, his kid and he couldn't abandon another child no matter what the circumstances. Caleb will know his father Puck thought as he smiled and grabbed both his and Santana's stuff and headed for her car.

**Puck and Santana? Thoughts? Will their son mean a relationship? Dating? I have to tell you honestly that when this fic started this was not at all in my plans. It just kind of happened.**


	17. Come With Me

"Kurt, I'm home," Santana said as she walked into her house.

"Kurt?" Puck asked her.

"He's babysitting while I'm going to be in Lima," Santana clarified.

"San, what are you," Kurt was stopped as he noticed Puck standing next to his best friend. "Oh my God."

"Kurt, I'm assuming you remember Noah Puckerman from high school," Santana introduced.

"Oh I remember," Kurt snipped. He wasn't exactly Puck's biggest fan especially after he left Quinn. Despite everything that happened, Kurt still managed to be both Santana and Quinn's best friends and he hated how Puck played both of them.

"Hey Kurt," Puck said with a half -smile. He knew almost immediately that Kurt was not happy to see him.

"Puck," Kurt responded. He paused a few seconds but then in typical Kurt style had to speak his mind. "I have half a mind to kick you out of this house right now for what you did to Quinn and San. You left two girls heartbroken and two kids fatherless."

"Kurt," Santana yelled giving him her signature glare. "Drop it."

"It's okay San, he's absolutely right," Puck acknowledged. "I made stupid mistakes that cost me Quinn and Beth and didn't realize that Santana wanted something more from our relationship. I didn't know about Caleb until tonight but honestly I don't know if I would have stayed. I became something I never wanted to be, my father, and I'll regret my decisions for every day of my life. I ran into Santana at the airport because I was going to Lima to see Quinn and Beth."

"She doesn't need you now, she has my step-brother," Kurt said to Puck.

"Don't remind me Kurt," Puck added still upset that Quinn ended up with Finn. "I'm trying to make up for my past but It is fine if you don't want to believe me. You have to do what you have to do and so do I but I'm not letting anyone get in the way of what I want. Not this time."

"So what, you're going to go back to Lima and interfere with Quinn and Finn's relationship?" Kurt asked him. "She's happy Puck. She and Beth are happy. Do you really want to ruin that?"

"No," Puck sighed defeated. Kurt was right. Beth and Quinn were happy and they deserved that chance of happiness. "No, I don't. I just, I need to see my daughter and her mother. It is time for me to man up and give Quinn the closure she properly deserves."

"You don't get it Puck, you left her," Kurt reminded him. "Do you really think she wants anything to do with you or that she would want you in Beth's life? Beth has a father now, one who cares about her and loves her enough not to leave her."

"Kurt that is enough," Santana said coming to the defense of her once best friend. "You need to stop saying stuff about Puck. He is a guest in our house."

"Our house?" Puck asked confused.

Santana chuckled. "Yeah, he kind of moved in a few months ago to help me with Caleb."

"Another child who is better off without you," Kurt added.

"I told you to stop," Santana yelled. "Just get out of here for a couple hours and give me and Puck a chance to talk, alone."

"Absolutely not," Kurt remarked. "I am not leaving you alone with him."

Santana just knew that her friend was being protective. She reached over to him and grabbed his arm. She looked him in the eyes. "Kurt, it's okay really. I need to do this."

He took one look into her eyes and knew she was going to be okay. "Fine," Kurt reluctantly agreed. He headed for the door but then turned to Puck. "If you do anything to her or Cale so help me, I'll,"

"Goodbye Kurt," Santana said a little more forcefully.

"I'll be back in one hour San," he said. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

"Promise," she smiled at him as he walked out the door.

"I'm so sorry Puck for everything Kurt said," Santana said as she returned from the baby's room with Caleb in her arms.

"He's protective over you and that's, that's great. I'm glad you and Caleb have that," Puck admitted.

"Yeah he is kind of like a big brother but that is beside the point. Puck, I know what he said to you must have hurt," she said.

"A little but it is all true," Puck announced defeated. "He is right. I haven't been Beth's father since I left and I've never been a father to your son. Maybe my kids are better off without me in their lives. Beth has Quinn who is a wonderful mother and she has Finn now. He's her dad now. He is the only dad she has ever known anyway. And you, your life seems perfect. You have a great job and a beautiful baby boy. I'm sure you're a great mom and it isn't like Caleb doesn't have anybody. He has Kurt. He already is the father figure that my son has grown up knowing. Why should I go and change everything and complicate the lives of two babies when I don't even deserve to be their father in the first place."

Without hesitating for a moment, Santana spoke up, ready to prove to Puck how wrong he was. "That's not true Puck. None of it."

"What exactly isn't true Santana?" he asked.

"Well first off you didn't say our son. He isn't my son, he is our son," Santana began. She could see a small glint of hope in his eyes again. She continued. "Second of all my life is far from perfect. Yeah I have a great job and an amazing kid but something is missing and that something is you. Cale needs his daddy as much as I need you to want to be his daddy. Finally, Finn can play house with Quinn as much as he wants but that will never change the fact that you are Beth's dad. Also, Kurt a father figure? He would have Cale wearing Prada and singing show tunes."

Puck smiled and laughed a bit when Santana mentioned Kurt's femininity. "You're wrong about Beth though," he added after a few seconds. "I may be her biological dad but as Quinn pointed out to me so many times biology isn't love. She always wanted Finn to be Beth's dad and now that is my reality. My best friend is raising my daughter as his own."

"Noah Caleb Puckerman, I love you and you know that. I know you don't love me back but I still love you and it is because I love you that I am going to say this. You need to find out what Quinn wants. You need to find out how your, not Finn's, little girl is doing. You love them and you have to know if they love you back. You need to step back into the picture and prove to Quinn that you aren't going anywhere now or ever," Santana told him. "As for me and Cale, well, we'll be here waiting for you if you want to be a part of our lives now or whenever."

"I can't leave you or my son San," Puck said.

"You can and you have to," she replied. "You have to see if this thing with Quinn will go anywhere and it is something you have to do on your own. You don't have to stay here out of misplaced guilt. You have nothing to be guilty about; I was the one who didn't tell you that you had a son. So please go and get your happy ending. You are welcome to see Caleb and I at any time."

"I don't want to leave but you're right, I think I have to," Puck admitted as he grabbed his bags and headed for the door. He was surprised when Santana didn't follow him. "Aren't you coming? You are going to miss the flight."

"I'll just reschedule the meeting," Santana said as she rocked Caleb to sleep in her lap. "Besides I sent the babysitter out for an hour so I can't leave Cale alone."

Puck nodded his agreement and then headed out the door. He got halfway to his car before realizing something didn't feel right.

"Come with me," he said as he re-entered Santana's home.

"I told you I can't," she said.

"No, I don't mean come with me to the airport I mean come with me to Lima," Puck clarified.

"And do what with Cale?" she asked.

"Bring him with you, with us," Puck said smiling as he took the baby boy from Santana's arms. "I'm not leaving another kid or his mom. Besides I want my mom to meet her grandson."

"You want to make Quinn jealous," Santana corrected.

"If that happens as a result then I won't complain," Puck smiled. "But seriously come with me. I'm not saying you have to stay in Lima and move there but come back just for a few days. San, I don't know what is going to happen between me and Quinn but you have been wonderful. I can't promise you that anything will happen between us but I would like for you and Cale to move in with me when we get back."

"Puck, you can't be serious, besides if everything works out with you and Quinn you won't be coming back," Santana reminded him.

"Maybe that's true but you and the kid are my family now too and I am not turning my back on another one of my kids," Puck told her. "So please come with me to Lima and then when we get back we can consider moving in together."

"I don't know Puck," Santana said mulling over the idea.

"Please San, it could be an adventure between friends," he said.

"Friends who have a baby together," Santana laughed.

"Yes friends who have a baby together," Puck echoed.

"Well, I guess if you put it that way, I can't say no," Santana smiled. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so happy.

"So it's a yes?" Puck asked excitedly.

Santana laughed. "It's a yes."

Puck with Caleb in his arms grabbed her bags and waited in one of the couch chairs as Santana packed a bag of Caleb's things. When she came down from his room, she was smiling. Just seeing Puck holding his little boy somehow made everything feel right.


	18. You, Me and Baby Makes Three

Quinn stared intently at the stick and watched as it turned from pink to blue. She smiled when she saw the results. She was surprised because they hadn't been trying but that didn't keep her from being excited. She never thought she would be so happy about a positive pregnancy test especially after she nearly cried herself to tears when she found out she was pregnant with Beth, but she was ecstatic. Quinn and Finn had been talking about giving Beth some brothers and sisters and Quinn was eager to give Finn a child. She knew he loved Beth as his own but to actually be having his baby; it was what Quinn had always wanted. With that same smile plastered on her face she walked out of the bathroom.

"What are you smiling about?" Finn asked playfully.

"I'm pregnant," she said.

"Wait, you're what?" he asked a little shocked.

"I'm pregnant," she repeated as her smile grew bigger.

"You're pregnant?" Finn asked again as the joy seeped through his voice.

Quinn just nodded her head and continued to smile.

"You're pregnant, oh my God we're, we're having a baby," Finn announced cheerfully.

Quinn just nodded her head again. She was almost too happy to speak.

He gave her a big smile and then picked her up into his arms to hug and kiss her. "We're having a baby," he kept repeating as both of them smiled and laughed.

"Yeah, we're having a baby," Quinn smiled. She was so happy about the little boy or girl growing inside of her but she was even happier at the fact that she was able to give Finn what he had wanted more than anything in the world.

"I love you," Finn said as he continued to hug his wife, "both of you."

"We love you too," Quinn said back as she placed a gentle kiss on her husband's lips and moved his hands down to her stomach where Finn's first born was growing.

"Did you hear that Beth?" Finn said as he picked up his little girl. "You're going to be a big sister soon."

Quinn smiled. She loved the way Finn was around Beth. He was natural. He just knew how to be the perfect dad and Quinn knew that with a new little one on the way, he would be an even better dad. He loved her and she loved him and now that they were together, she knew he wouldn't leave her side. She wouldn't be raising their baby on her own like she did with Beth when Puck left. She knew everything would work out. That is until she heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it," Quinn told her husband. She walked over to the door and opened it shocked to see who was on the other end.

**They're having a baby! Hope this makes those of you who wanted to see Beth get a brother or sister happy **

**Also who is going to be at the door? **


	19. Coming Home

**77: Thanks for the review **

"Hi," Puck said softly, delicately. He wasn't really sure of anything else to say.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asked as she tried to mask the small part of her that was happy to see him.

"I uh, came to see you and my, uh, my daughter. I came to see you and our daughter," Puck said once he finally found the words.

"You don't have a daughter anymore," Quinn clarified as she tried to shut the door. Unfortunately for her he was too strong.

"Quinn, I just want to talk," he said as he pushed her hands away from the door frame. She could feel his touch. It was so soft, just like she had remembered.

"No, I can't," she said as she held back tears. It was no use though because Puck could see the hurt and pain in her eyes. He caused that and he hated himself for that.

"Please Quinn, I just want to talk to you about some stuff," Puck said. "I, I didn't mean to leave. I mean I didn't want to leave. Things just got so complicated and I couldn't handle what happened so I bolted but it was the biggest mistake of my life. Leaving you and our daughter, I'll never forgive myself for that. I lost so much time I'll never get back and I hate that but I'm here now and I swear to you I am not going anywhere and," Puck stopped when he noticed Finn still with Beth in his arms enter the doorway.

"Beth," he said softly as he laid eyes on his little girl for the first time in years.

"What are you doing here Puck?" Finn asked protectively as he put his arm around Quinn's shoulder.

"I just want to talk to Quinn for a little bit," Puck said making sure to omit the fact that he was still in love with her.

"I have nothing to say to you," Quinn interjected as her eyes now filled with tears.

"You heard her Puck, she doesn't want to talk to you," Finn said as he saw Quinn begin to cry. He hated seeing her cry.

"Please Finn I just need to talk to her. I just need to say I'm sorry and tell you how much of a mistake I made leaving the girls like I did," Puck continued. "I had no idea they were going to have no place to go. I should have come back sooner."

"Yeah you should have," Finn said still angry. He couldn't help but notice the genuine look in his eyes though. It almost made Finn feel sorry for him.

Puck saw the hurt in Quinn's eyes and the anger in Finn's. He also saw his beautiful little girl. She obviously didn't notice her parent's emotions because she was smiling and laughing. She even smiled at Puck and then he knew. He knew that he couldn't ruin her life. She was so happy. All he ever wanted was for his little girl to be happy. He knew what he had to do.

"Um uh, sorry to waste your time," Puck said as he started to walk away. He got about halfway down the driveway before he was turned around.

"Wait Puck," Finn said. "We were just about to have breakfast if you uh want to maybe join us."

"Finn," Quinn turned to him obviously upset he didn't ask her first.

"No Quinn, I think we have to do this," Finn said as he squeezed his wife's hand, assuring her it would be okay.

"I don't think that's a good idea Finn but thanks, I think I'm just going to go," Puck said as he began walking back to his car. This time, another voice stopped him.

"Please Puck, it's okay I, I want you to stay," Quinn said still unsure of what she was agreeing to.

"Are you sure?" he asked hopefully.

"We're sure," Finn said. "Come in."

"Thanks man," Puck said to his former friend.

"Don't mention it," Finn responded.

Puck walked into the Hudson home which after his mom and Burt moved out, became Finn and Quinn's. He had been in the house at least one hundred times. In fact he came over almost every day in grade school and came over on weekends after football practice. As he took a seat on the couch he remembered how many times him and Finn sat on that couch and played video games late into the morning. He also remembered all the parties they didn't go to because they'd rather play midnight Halo marathons.

Puck sighed. There were so many good memories in this house but now it was something totally different. It was no longer the home of Puck's childhood best friend. It was no longer the place where he went to hang out, to chill or when he needed someone to talk to about his dad. No, that home that Puck remembered was gone. It was replaced by Finn's home; Finn's home with Quinn and his daughter. There were pictures of the three of them all over and pictures from their wedding and special moments in Beth's life cluttered the tables. He saw drawings of Beth's hanging up and her toys scattered all over the floor. Finn's PS2 was replaced with a VCR and Disney movies. The old busted futon which Puck remembered playing games on was gone and instead a small pack and play was in its place.

Puck didn't know what to think of all of the changes in the home. He didn't know if he should be sad or angry or happy for Finn, Quinn and especially Beth. Beth deserved the world and Puck thought he would be the one to give it to her. Unfortunately things didn't work out as planned and it was Finn who was the one making his daughter and her mother happy.

"Puck, food's ready," Finn announced drawing Puck out of his thoughts.

"Thanks, I'm, I'm uh coming," Puck said as he looked around the room again. He managed to smile thinking about the memories.

Finn took notice of this and decided to reminisce with Puck. "Hey Puck, you remember that time when we decided to bring the mattresses down from upstairs and we slid down the stairs with them," Finn said. "We made it into a race and well I think you remember what happened."

Puck laughed. "Yeah, I made it down the stairs first and then you face planted into the wall. Your mom had to take you to get five stitches that day."

"Yupp and I still have the scar to this day," Finn smiled. He lifted his hair up to show Puck the small scar on his forehead.

"Can't believe we actually thought mattress surfing was a good idea," Puck laughed.

"Well we were eleven," Finn reminded him.

"Yeah, we were best friends then. It was a simpler time," Puck said as his mind began to drift back into thought.

"Good memories from our childhood," Finn remarked. "You helped me through a lot especially when I missed my dad."

"I wouldn't have made it into McKinley and gotten into football if it wasn't for you," Puck smiled.

"I guess we did make a pretty good team," Finn said.

"The best team," Puck added.

There were a few minutes of awkward silence before Puck spoke up. "Look man I'm sorry," he began. "I'm so so sorry for messing everything up. It was my fault that our whole friendship went to crap and that everything got screwed up and I'm just sorry."

"Can you stop with the apologies Puck? forgive you and I mean it," Finn assured his friend. "It doesn't have to be this way. We can go back to being friends and being bros. It may not be the same as before but I miss having someone to play Halo with."

Puck wanted so much to say yes but he knew that the reason he was here was totally the opposite of being Finn's buddy. He wanted to take back what he considered his. He wanted his daughter and her mother. He couldn't be Finn's friend again if he was just so willing to break his heart by taking Quinn and Beth.

"I don't think I'm staying Finn," Puck responded. "You have my number though if you ever want to call. Promise I'll pick up."

"You're not staying?" Finn questioned.

"I don't think I can. I mean it is obvious Quinn doesn't want me around and it would be weird," Puck reminded Finn.

"I can work on Quinn. I think it would mean a lot to Beth if you stayed," Finn told him.

Puck had avoided looking to that corner of the room but when Finn mentioned her name he couldn't help but glance. Beth was asleep in her pack and play. She looked so, so peaceful when she slept.

"Oh yeah Beth," Puck began. He scratched his head hoping it had the right answer. It didn't. "Look Finn, I can't do this, I mean with Beth. I can't stay here and sit on the sidelines while I watch you and Quinn raise my daughter. I can't watch you be happy with the people that I am supposed to be happy with. I can't see my daughter grow up knowing that I'll only ever be an uncle in her life. I'm sorry Finn, I just can't do it."

"You wouldn't be on the sidelines Puck, you would be her, her," Finn paused. He couldn't say it. He wanted Puck to be in his daughter's life but deep down he didn't want anybody to take her away from him. "It would mean so much if you were in her life."

"As what Finn?" Puck asked seriously.

"Well as her, her uh, her other dad, I guess," Finn muttered as he tried to avoid answering the question.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Puck said. He knew that Finn didn't want to give up being Beth's dad. He didn't want to make him give it up but at the same time he just wanted to have Quinn and Beth back. He had no choice but to tell Finn his motives.

"Look Finn, I came here for more than just to talk to you and Quinn about stuff and to ask permission to be back in my daughter's life," Puck said. "I came here to get Beth back. I came to convince Quinn I could be the father Beth needs and I came here to well, to try to get my family back. I hate that I have to hurt you to make this happen but I can't give up my daughter, not again. It isn't enough just to be in her life. I am her father, her only father and it is time I stepped back into that role."

Finn was stunned. He didn't know what to say. Part of him was expecting Puck to say this but it still hurt. It hurt because he hated that he was the one keeping Puck from his daughter, he hated that Puck wanted to take Beth away from him and he hated that Puck thought that he could just step back into Beth's life after years apart. Finn wasn't going to let that happen. He loved his friend and all but he loved his little girl more. He wasn't going to just give up Beth, not without a fight.

"I want you in Beth's life but she is my daughter now," Finn told Puck. "You can't just expect to show up years after you left leaving only a letter to your baby and the girl you claimed to love. I am the only father Beth has known and I'm not going to change that for her."

"So this is how it is going to be?" Puck asked.

"I'm sorry Puck but this is how it has to be. I'm not open to negotiation," Finn firmly told his friend.

"Fine, but this isn't over, not even close," Puck said as he grabbed his coat and headed for the door. "I don't want it to be like this but I'm not letting anyone keep me from my little girl."

"Get out of my house," Finn said as he opened the door.

"Gladly," Puck responded as he stormed out and into his car. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen at all, Puck thought to himself. He just got heated and it came out. He never intended to harass Finn or even to fight them for custody but now here he was pulling out his phone and calling the one person he knew could help him.

"Hey San, I'm on my way back to the house and as it turns out you were right, I'm going to need a lawyer after all," he said leaving the message on her voicemail.

If it was going to be war, Puck was determined to have the best on his side. Luckily for him, the best just happened to be the mother of his son.

**Puck is back! Are you all excited, happy, sad about this? Why do you think he is going to need a lawyer? Will Quinn and Finn get their happy ending? Let me know what you think!**


	20. The Fight Of Our Lives

"Finn, I called you guys for breakfast fifteen minutes ago, what gives?" Quinn asked as she walked in to the living room. She was surprised to see that Puck was gone and that Finn was on the couch with obvious fear in his eyes.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Quinn asked when she saw her husband's face. "Where's Puck?"

"Gone," Finn said. "Quinn, we need to talk about something."

Now Quinn was a little nervous. "What is it?"

"Puck wants to be back in Beth's life," Finn said as he faced Quinn.

"Oh," Quinn said as she tried to hide the small bit of happiness she had at this news. "Isn't that what you wanted though?"

"Yeah it is but not the way he wants it," Finn clarified.

"What do you mean Finn?" Quinn questioned.

"He wants to be her father. Puck wants to be Beth's dad again," Finn stated.

"Wait he what?" Quinn asked. Puck was back and he wanted to be Beth's dad again. She didn't know what to think or how to feel. She missed Puck and knew that he missed her and the baby but this wasn't right. He couldn't just come in like nothing had changed. She was with Finn now and Finn was Beth's dad. He stepped up when he didn't have to. He stepped up when Puck left and when she was alone. As far as she was concerned Finn was the only father Beth knew and that Beth needed.

"He told me that he couldn't watch Beth grow up from the sidelines and that he couldn't stay if he couldn't be her father again," Finn said.

"Well then he should just go because he isn't getting that chance again," Quinn stated now almost as angry as Finn. "You are her father, you have been her father. He left, he didn't care. Beth is yours and no one especially not Puck is going to take her away from you."

"That's what I told him but I think it is beyond that now. He said he didn't want to but that he would take it to court, to get his parental rights," Finn said.

"To court? He's planning on suing us for custody?" Quinn screamed.

"It isn't going to work Quinn. No judge would take a baby away from her mother especially when the father was MIA for years," Finn pointed out as he tried to ease her fears. "Besides, I signed the adoption papers so I am Beth's father now. We have a good relationship and a happy stable home life. Most importantly Beth is safe and happy. No judge would ever take her from us."

"You're probably right Finn but we can't afford a lawyer. How are we supposed to go to court if we can't afford a lawyer?" Quinn asked. She was more than angry now. She was scared.

"I'll, I'll figure something out Quinn, I promise," Finn said as he began to get a little scared himself. He couldn't show that to Quinn though. He had to be strong. "No one is going to take Beth from us ever."

Finn wrapped his arms around Quinn and kissed her on the forehead. No one was going to destroy what he had with her and their daughter, no one.


	21. Not Like This

**Hey guys- sorry these chapters are so late. I had some homework for school so I only just got a chance to work on them. 1130 though so I'm still good for getting the two up for the day **

"So you need a lawyer?" Santana mused as she sipped her coffee.

"Yeah, I mean no, I mean I don't know San, I really don't want to do it this way," Puck sighed as he fed breakfast to his son.

"I know this isn't how you want to do it, but do you really expect Quinn and Finn to just let you take Beth?" Santana asked.

"I don't want to take her. I just want for them to let me be her dad again," Puck confessed.

"Beth is your daughter and they don't have the right to tell you that you can't be her father because you are her father and nothing can change that," Santana told him.

"I know that but look at what Finn and Quinn have done since I left," Puck said. "They have raised Beth so perfectly and she is happy and healthy. That is really all that I could ask for. I shouldn't be the one to take her away from that."

"Puck what is it that you want?" Santana asked. "First you say you want to be her father again then you say you don't want to ruin her life, and then you say you just want her to be happy. You are going to have to make up your mind. Do you want to be in her life or not?"

Puck thought about it for a few seconds. "I want to be in Beth's life. I want to be her father."

"Okay then, I'll start the paper work for custody," Santana said.

"Wait," Puck said. "Let me uh, let me talk to Quinn first."

"Didn't you try that?" Santana asked.

"I did but I think if I just tell her how I'm feeling and that I don't want to take Beth she might give me a chance," Puck said. "If I tell her I just want joint custody maybe things will be different."

"I think as long as you want to take Beth from Finn, well than Quinn would have a problem," Santana pointed out. "

"I still want to try," Puck said.

"Alright if that is what you want," Santana said as she finished her coffee.

"And this time, it's going to be total honesty," Puck said. "I have to tell her about why I left in the first place."

"About us?" Santana questioned.

"Yeah, she deserves to know about what happened that night," Puck told her. "Maybe she'll even forgive me and we can get a second chance."

"Doubt it," Santana scoffed. "She is happy with Finn now. Telling her you cheated on her isn't going to change that."

"I have to try San, I still love her," Puck said.

"Yeah I know," Santana said. "Just don't get your hopes up because I don't want to see you get hurt if she won't leave Finn."

"I'll try not to," Puck smiled and then kissed Santana on the cheek. "I don't know what I would do without you two."

"If it was up to us you would never have to find out," Santana added with a bit of a fake smile. She wanted Puck to be with her, to love her and not Quinn.

"I've got to go take care of some things and then I'm going to talk to Quinn," Puck said. "Finn will be at work so I'll get her alone and it will be the best chance I have to get through to her."

"Good luck," Santana said sarcastically.

"Thanks even though I know you don't mean it," Puck responded.

"Say bye to daddy Cale," Santana said as she waved her little boys arms.

Puck smiled. "Bye San, bye Cale." He had forgotten what it was like to be a father until Santana brought Caleb into his life. He had a son, a beautiful, bouncing, baby boy. Even though he only met him a few days ago, the time he spent with the baby and Santana reminded him so much of what life was like when Beth was born. It was just him, Quinn and their little girl against the world. They were untouchable until he cheated on her and left. He hated that he did that but he didn't regret it. If he hadn't slept with Santana he wouldn't have had a son and he loved his baby boy. He had only known him less than a week but he couldn't imagine life without him. Now, he just needed to get his other kid back and then everything would be perfect, Puck thought.


	22. Forgiveness Isn't Easy

_Dear Quinn,_

_I don't even have words to explain what I'm doing now and I still don't even know why I'm doing it. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in my life. I know it sounds weird but I think I always loved you. I remember the first day I met you at school and I thought you were a bitch. Then I remember when Finn told me that you were his girlfriend and I thought he was crazy. You were definitely not the girl I wanted my best friend to date but it happened. I always said I was unhappy about it because I thought you were totally wrong for Finn but truth is I didn't want Finn to date you because well I wanted to date you. Something about you made me fall in love and made me want to be a better person. Then when I found out you were pregnant, my world was rocked. I had sex with my best friend's girlfriend and got her pregnant. Needless to say, I was freaked out. We were just in high school. We weren't ready for a baby but you, you saw it differently. I know you didn't love me at first like I loved you. You said our night together was a mistake and didn't want me in Beth's life. I respected that but I loved you and Beth and to this day I am so glad both of you are in my life._

_When you decided not to sign those adoption papers, well, that was the happiest day of my life. You, me and Beth as a family. I knew we would make it and for some time we really did. You even fell in love with me and I thought things were perfect. You were perfect. Beth was perfect. But I wasn't perfect._

_We fought a lot and sometimes I felt like you would never talk to me. I wanted you to open up to me but something in you was scared. It took its toll on me and that's when I started confiding in Santana. I swear to you that when it happened it was only that. I just needed someone to talk to. She was your friend and I figured she could help me to get to know you better and get to know how to make things work._

_I got stressed and the pressure of school, a job, a baby and trying to be in a relationship was too much. I couldn't do it. I panicked. I remember seeing that look in your eyes two weeks ago after that fight. I called you a bitch and I saw how you looked at me. It was the same look I saw in your eyes when Finn called you a bitch after he found out the truth. You were broken. I remember how hurt you were when Finn called you a bitch and I can't believe that I was the one to put that look back there. I never wanted to make you feel like that but when I did, I felt that a little piece of you died that day. That is when I knew I had to go._

_I know I didn't come home that night and that we only really saw each other a handful of times before today but I had to make sure I was making the right decision. When I saw how hurt you were that you couldn't even really talk to me, I knew I was doing the right thing._

_I can't be the man you need or the boyfriend you want. I tried my best, I really did but you deserve so much better than me. Beth deserves better than me. She deserves a father who can love her the way she needs. If I can't be that person for her and for you then both of you are better off without me._

_I love you both and I will miss you every single day of my life but I am doing what is best for you. Please don't try to get me to come back because you don't need me. I'll send money to help you with the financial stuff but other than that it is better that we have a clean break. It will be easier that way. I'm so sorry it has to be like this. Never forget that I love you and I love Beth._

_Love always,_

_Puck._

This was the first time Quinn had read Puck's letter in over a year. She used to sit and read it every night for the first three months after he left just hoping that he would come back. She called him, texted him and left him hundreds of messages begging him to come back. She told him they could work things out, that she needed him and that Beth did too but nothing. Her sadness over him being gone quickly turned into anger and resent. She hated him for leaving her and their baby.

Now she hated him for a different reason. She hated him for thinking he could just come back into her life and expect for them to pick up where they left off. She hated him for wanting to take Beth from her. She still hated him for leaving in the first place. Despite all this hate however, she sat there are read through the letter again and again and again until she started to cry. She hated that she missed him. She hated that she still loved him. She hated that he was the one who made her happy.

Quinn couldn't do this anymore. She rubbed her eyes and stuck the letter back in a box under her bed. When she came back downstairs, the doorbell rang.

"Puck," she questioned when she saw him standing in the doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"I just want to talk Quinn, just you and me, like old times," Puck said.

"I have nothing to say to you Puck," Quinn told him as she began to close the door. "You can't just pretend like the past didn't happen because it did. These aren't old times anymore."

"Quinn please just give me a chance," Puck said as he stopped her from closing the door. He reached out and grabbed her arm. "I just want to talk."

His touch felt so good again. She had missed it. "Fine," she said as she let him in.

He sat down on the couch and she took a seat on one of the chairs. It was awkward for the first five minutes. In fact it was totally quiet until Puck spoke first.

"So uh, how have you been?" he asked timidly.

"Really, that's really what you are going to ask me?" Quinn shot back defensively. "You've been gone more almost two years and you are just going to ask me how I've been?"

"Okay so I guess you're not in the mood for small talk, that's fine," Puck laughed.

Quinn offered a fake laugh. "How can you find any of this funny?"

"If eyes could kill," Puck whispered as Quinn glared at him.

"What did you say?" she sneered.

He thought it better to drop it. "Nothing important."

"If you aren't going to take any of this seriously then you might as well just leave," Quinn said as she pointed to the door.

"I thought you liked that about me," Puck said. "I thought you liked that I didn't take things seriously."

"Two years ago maybe," Quinn admitted. "I don't like anything about you now."

"Why don't I believe you?" Puck questioned.

"Just tell me what the hell you want," Quinn said. She didn't want to admit it but she found his playful banter kind of cute. It was annoying, but cute none the less.

"I just wanted to talk to you about our daughter," Puck began, "and to tell you that I still love you."

"You love me?" Quinn asked surprisingly.

"I never stopped," Puck admitted.

"Can I ask you a question then?" Quinn asked.

"Anything," Puck responded.

"If you love me then why did you leave me and Beth?" Quinn asked honestly. It was the question she had wanted the answer to since the day she first read that letter.

"I knew one day I would have to explain this," Puck sighed. "I didn't want to leave but I wasn't what was best for you or Beth. I knew both of you would have a better life without me. I had to give you that chance."

"How do you know that you weren't what was best for us?" Quinn asked angrily. "You never gave it a chance and our lives are definitely not better without you. I mean they weren't. I don't even know what made you think they would be. You left me alone. I was a junior in high school, Puck. I was a junior with a baby. Your mom blamed me for being the reason why you left so she kicked me out. I was a junior with a baby and without a home. When you left, I lost everything."

"I'm so sorry Quinn. I, I didn't know," Puck stammered.

"Of course you didn't know because you didn't care," Quinn pointed out. "You didn't answer any of my calls or texts. You never called or emailed or anything. Once a month I got a check without a return address. No note, just a check. You left and didn't even look back."

"I thought about you and Beth every single day," Puck said. "I missed you both so much. You don't know how many times I just thought about dropping everything and coming back to you."

"Then why didn't you?" Quinn asked.

"Because of what I did," Puck sighed. "That's why I never came back."

"What did you do?" Quinn asked. She had waited years for this answer.

"Because I slept with Santana," Puck admitted. "I cheated on you."

"I knew something was going on between you two," Quinn said a little more sad than angry. "How could I have been so stupid?"

"Nothing was going on Quinn, I swear. I only slept with her once and it was after we had that fight," Puck finally told her. "That is why I couldn't come back. I wasn't the person you deserved. You deserved someone who wouldn't cheat on you but I wasn't that guy."

"How could you cheat on me with my best fri-" Quinn paused. She couldn't finish that sentence. Puck had only done what she had done to Finn years back. Now she finally knew what it felt like, the pain she caused Finn. "I'm a hypocrite."

"No you're not," Puck assured her.

"Yes I am," Quinn fired back. "I am so upset at the fact that you cheated on me with my best friend when that is exactly what I did to Finn. Now I finally know how much he must have hurt. I can't believe I did that."

"It wasn't just you Quinn," Puck reminded her.

"Oh right, it was the fact that you had been in love with me since you met me and just couldn't help yourself," Quinn stated.

"So I guess you did read the letter then," Puck realized.

"Oh I read your stupid letter Puck," Quinn told him. "I read it every damn day for two months after you left. It was the only thing that kept me going after I moved from house to house. I was just hoping and praying that the words weren't true but the more I read it I came to the realization that you weren't coming back. I think that hurt even more than when I found out you had left."

"Again Quinn, I'm so sorry for hurting you like that but I had to leave," Puck told her. "I couldn't stay knowing and seeing how I made you feel."

"You could have told me the truth," Quinn pointed out.

"You would have hated me," Puck assumed.

Quinn shook her head. "I would have forgiven you."

"That's easy for you to say now but you really think that years ago you would have felt the same way?" Puck questioned.

"I don't know but you never even gave me the opportunity," Quinn told him.

"I disappointed you and myself. Even if you did forgive me I wouldn't have forgiven myself," Puck admitted.

"How do you know?" Quinn asked. "You never even gave yourself the opportunity to see." Her repeated words were finally sinking in to him.

"I'm sorry," was all he was able to say.

"Puck, can I ask you something?" Quinn questioned with tears starting to form in her eyes. "If you had all of these feelings about how I would hate you, why did you choose to come back? Why now? You couldn't face me years ago so why all of a sudden have things changed?"

"I don't know exactly how to explain this. It is kind of a long story," Puck informed his ex-girlfriend.

"I've got time," Quinn remarked.

Puck smiled and then began his story. "I guess it all started when my mom in her well- meaning ways sent me a picture of Beth from her 1st birthday party. I didn't ask how she got my address because she sent it as fan mail to my band Code Red. I knew as soon as I saw it however that it was my little girl. Ever since then I started to miss you and Beth more and more that I called my mom and asked her to send me more pictures of Beth. Once a month or so I would get a handful of pictures of Beth and I put all of them on the wall in my bedroom to remind me of my little girl. It was about three months ago that my mom sent me a pic of Beth but this time it was her and you. You were holding her and Beth was smiling. It was the most perfect picture ever. In fact,"

Puck paused as he pulled the photo out of his wallet and showed it to Quinn, "I carry it around with me wherever I go. So anyway after mom sent me that pic I started to think about coming home to see both of you but I just couldn't do it. I was still so afraid of hurting you and Beth and both of you seemed so happy in the pictures and I didn't want to ruin it. I decided not to come home. That was until Finn called me to tell me about your wedding and the adoption. I just freaked out and it was the last straw. I had to come home to try to win you back."

"Win me back?" Quinn asked hopefully.

"Yeah I didn't tell you this but I never stopped loving you. Even to this day I only want to be with you," Puck admitted to Quinn.

Quinn had no idea what to say to that. He still loved her. She still loved him. If only life could be that simple. "Finish the story," was all she could manage to say.

"Right, so when I got that phone call I decided I had to come back to Lima," Puck said. "I rescheduled some stuff and bought a plane ticket from San Diego International Airport to Lima, Ohio. I started re-thinking coming back because again you and Finn and Beth just seemed so happy and I didn't want to ruin it. I almost cancelled my flight before running into Santana."

"Santana was at the airport," Quinn said. "Of course she was."

"It wasn't like that Quinn, we just kind of ran into each other," Puck stated. "I hadn't seen or talked to her since that night before I left but she said she had been keeping up with me. She figured out that Code Red was my band and she said that judging by some of my song names that I was still in love with you. I told her I was and then explained that I was going to see you. She told me she was also coming to Lima for a project. We got to talking and then it was announced that the flight was delayed. Well anyway I was still unsure about coming back to Lima but then Santana told me something that made up my mind."

"What did she say?" Quinn asked.

"Santana told me that I, that we had a son," Puck confessed. "She said that she found out she was pregnant the day I left. She planned on telling me but since I left it was useless."

"You and Santana have a son?" Quinn asked completely shocked. She had tuned out everything Puck said after hearing that he and Santana had a kid.

"Yeah, his uh his name is Caleb and he is seven months old," Puck said to Quinn. He couldn't help but smile when talking about his baby boy. Even though Quinn was clearly stunned, Puck couldn't hide his smile.

"You have another kid," Quinn stated softly. She still couldn't believe it. "You, you cheated on me and got my best friend pregnant. Now I really know how Finn must have felt."

"I'm sorry Quinn, I'm not telling you this to hurt you, I just thought that if we had a chance for a future that I had to be up front and honest about everything," Puck admitted.

"We have no future," Quinn said as she tried to fight back tears. "I'm with Finn now and we're happy. I, I don't need you." Quinn said this last part rather unconvincingly. She was happy with Finn but not needing Puck, well that wasn't as true as she wanted it to be.

"Quinn, I still love you and want to be with you and only you," Puck said as he tried to convince her to give him a second chance.

"I can't do it, I just can't," Quinn said as she started to cry. "You don't know how much I want to but I just can't."

"You can Quinn, we can," Puck said as he placed his hands on her cheeks and began to wipe away her tears. "We can work this out."

"I can't trust you anymore Puck," Quinn said to him. "I love you but I can't trust you so there is no way things would work."

"Baby you can trust me, I swear you can trust me," he said as he moved closer to her. He could feel her breath against his. He went to close the space with his lips but she pulled away. She wasn't going to cheat on Finn, not again.

"No Puck I can't," she sobbed. "You cheated on me and had a baby. It brings back so many horrible memories of what I did to Finn and now I know how he felt. I know why he wasn't able to forgive me right away because, because I can't forgive you yet."

"Oh ok that's understandable," Puck said. "I know it will take time."

"I can't promise you I will ever get over it Puck," Quinn admitted. "And if I do it's not like I can give you a window of how long it will take."

"So what does this mean for us?" Puck asked as he pushed a few pieces of blonde hair out of her eyes. Her eyes were so beautiful, even when she was crying.

"There is no us," Quinn said as she looked him in the eyes.

Puck was devastated but he wasn't too surprised. He betrayed her in a way that he had said he never would. He broke her trust and it was something he would have to earn back.

"Okay but what about Beth, what about our daughter?" Puck asked.

"What about her?" Quinn asked.

"I want to see her. I want to be her dad again," Puck said.

"That can't happen," Quinn confessed as she looked into Puck's eyes. Her heart was breaking.

"Why can't it happen?" he asked.

"Finn is her father. He is the only father she has known. She loves him and he has been there for her and for me when we had no one," Quinn told Puck.

"But, I'm here now and I swear to you Quinn, I'm never leaving again," Puck said as he tried to convince her to change her mind.

"I want to believe you but I can't trust that you'll stay," Quinn admitted. "You left me before and I hurt more than I thought was possible. I won't allow my daughter to hurt like that."

Quinn was right. Puck wouldn't admit it to her but she was absolutely right to protect her heart and her daughter's. Puck knew he wouldn't leave again but until he could make Quinn believe that she had to make him stay away. It was better for her and for Beth because she couldn't get her heart broken again.

"She's still my daughter Quinn and legally I have rights to see her," Puck said. Just because he understood her reasons didn't mean he agreed with them.

"Puck please don't do this," Quinn pleaded. "I am only keeping her from you for her sake."

"You aren't doing Beth any favors by keeping her from me Quinn," Puck said to her.

"Someone once said to me that my daughter was better off if her father left and made a clean break," Quinn said to Puck. "Is that not true anymore?"

"Quinn that's not fair," Puck pointed out. "I said that stuff years ago. I am a different person now."

"What is to keep you from leaving me and Beth for Santana and your son?" Quinn asked point blank.

"There's nothing, I mean I wouldn't, because I, I," Puck sighed.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Quinn said. "Why don't you just leave and go back to California before you cause me or my daughter anymore heartbreak."

Puck got up from the couch and headed for the door. "This isn't over Quinn," he said as he headed to his car. "I will fight for my daughter, no matter what it takes."


	23. Getting Married

**Flor: Thanks for the review and for liking the story! The letter was one of my favorite and yet the hardest part so far to write in this story. It just crushed me to think Puck would leave but I knew he would leave some sort of explanation like that for Quinn and his daughter because he is a good guy. As for the Finn/Quinn/Puck love triangle that is setting up, it will definitely be interesting going forward to see how Puck fights to try to win Quinn back. Thanks again for the review.**

**I would also like to give a shout out to MNPN who has reviewed every update. I so greatly appreciate your reviews and every review because they really do help me to post this story and to get the updates up so quickly. Knowing you and all the other reviewers are enjoying it, really makes me feel good about continuing to post the story. Thanks again!**

**Now without further ado, back to the story!**

"Draw up the papers San, I'm suing Finn and Quinn for joint custody of Beth," Puck said as he called Santana.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Santana asked.

"It's not what I want San, but it is what I have to do," Puck responded.

"If you're sure Puck then I can draw the papers up right now. I'm at the office," Santana informed him.

Puck sighed, "I'm sure." He hated having to do this but he knew it was the only way Quinn would let him near their daughter.

"Alright, I'll have everything done by the time I leave work, "she said. "Do you want me to send them out to her too?"

"Not yet," he said. "Just give me a week or something. I want to get everything in order to make this happen."

"What do you need to do?" Santana asked.

"First off I need to buy a house," Puck began. "If I'm going to get joint custody I have to establish a home in Lima and I have to show the court that I can give her a stable life."

"You know a lot about legal matters," Santana observed. "There is one other thing though that would significantly help your case."

"What is it?" Puck questioned.

"Marriage," Santana pointed out.

"If I could marry Quinn then I wouldn't need to fight for custody at all," Puck said unaware that Santana was talking about a different marriage.

"No Puck I meant a different marriage," she said. "It would be a marriage that would prove a stable home life and would help you stand on equal ground with Finn and Quinn."

"Who else could I, oh," Puck said as he finally realized what Santana had been talking about. "San I don't know I mean like I said I'm still in love with Quinn."

"I know and it would be simply platonic, like a green card marriage," Santana said. "It would be a marriage of convenience that we could use as a way to help you get custody of your daughter."

"I appreciate the offer I really do but knowing how you feel about me, well I couldn't do that to you," Puck said.

"Puck It's fine really," Santana told him. "I just want you to get Beth back and I'll do anything in my power to make that happen, even if that means having to be married to your sorry ass." She smiled.

"If we weren't on the phone right now I would hug you," Puck said as his face lit up with happiness. "This means so much to me Santana and I will never be able to repay you."

"Getting to spend some time as Mrs. Puckerman will be payment enough," Santana laughed.

"If you can survive living with me without us killing each other, I'll consider it a victory," Puck responded as he pulled into the driveway at his house.

"That is a challenge I am willing to accept," Santana added. "I'll talk to you later okay, I have a few things to finish here and then I'll get back to your place and we can hash out the details."

"Here I thought we could just take a plane to AC and boom, be husband and wife," Puck admitted.

"You're funny Puck but there is more to it," Santana told him. "In order for it to hold any clout in court we have to make it look believable. An AC wedding is fine but whatever we do the court has to believe that we are in a loving and stable relationship. You are probably going to hate this but it is best not to sue for custody until about a month after we are married. That way it won't look forced."

"You're right I do hate it," Puck said, "but I trust your judgment. I can go without seeing my little girl for one more month if it means I won't ever have to do it again."

"That is the plan," Santana said. "I'm going to do everything in my power to get you back into Beth's life but I really have to get back to the McKinley project now. It is harder than I thought trying to convince these people to move the office plans to another area."

"Good luck," Puck said.

"Thanks, I'll see you back at your place," Santana added.

"See you later," Puck said.

He knew he had to do something special for Santana but he also wanted to get moving on the wedding plan. He had an idea. He would combine the two. He would give Santana a romantic wedding and then a month later he would have his baby girl back.


	24. It's Finally Time

(1 Month Later)

"Hey babe," Puck said as he walked in the door after getting home from work. He then went up to his wife and kissed her on the lips. Yeah, it had gotten that far. Puck never expected that a month of marriage with Santana would blossom into romance but it did. It started out as a marriage of convenience but Santana was there. He still loved Quinn but the Quinn he loved was long gone. Santana even surprisingly seemed to remind Puck of the old Quinn and for that reason things just worked out between the two of them. It didn't hurt that they shared a son, Puck reasoned. That was after all part of the reason he got with Quinn in the first place.

"How was your meeting with your producer?" Santana asked as she continued to feed Caleb his dinner.

"Good, he actually said that at least for a while I can continue to do a lot of my end of the music business from Lima," Puck said as he grabbed the mushed peas from Santana and began feeding them to his son.

"That's wonderful babe," Santana said.

"Yeah because now that I know that I can stay in Lima, I think it is time that I finally try to get custody of my daughter," Puck said.

"Oh that reminds me," Santana mentioned as she grabbed her briefcase and pulled out a packet of papers. "I had these drawn up today."

Puck took a quick look at the papers. "These are the custody papers?"

"They are," she smiled. "I hope you don't mind but I actually had them mailed out today. Quinn and Finn should be getting them in the mail tomorrow."

"Oh," he said. "I thought we agreed that we were going to wait until I said it was okay."

"We did babe but it has been one month," Santana observed. "Don't you want Beth back as soon as possible?"

"I do, it's just," Puck paused as he tried to figure out what to say.

"It's Quinn isn't it?" Santana interrupted.

"I know this is going to crush her and as much as I want it, I really don't want to hurt her any more than I already did," Puck admitted.

Santana sighed. She had been denying it for two weeks now. Ever since Puck told her that he loved her and that he wanted to make their marriage of convenience work out for the right reasons she denied what she knew in her gut. He wouldn't admit it, not now, but Santana knew that he still loved Quinn. She knew that part of him always would.

"I understand," Santana said. "I'm sorry if I jumped the gun by doing this."

"It's okay San really," Puck lied. He couldn't tell her that he was mad at her for sending the papers because after all that is what he said he wanted. "I just have to go talk to Quinn before she gets the papers to let her know that I'm not trying to hurt her."

"Do what you have to Puck," Santana said. "Just know that now that the suit is out that we are going to have to settle on a court date."

Puck was absolutely dreading this part. "Just let me talk to Quinn first before you make any more decisions," he said in a tone a little harsher than he intended.

"Fine," Santana said, "just don't wait forever. If you're going to talk to Quinn do it soon."

"I'll do it tomorrow," Puck told his wife. "I'll make sure to talk to her tomorrow."


	25. Confrontation

**Three chapters for today, who is excited? I just wanted to put up three for today because I realized they are all pretty short. I've already written tomorrow's chapter though and it is pretty long and things definitely start to get interesting.**

**Plus, who all saw Puck and Santana getting married, even if it is just for convenience?**

"Quinn, open up," Puck said as he banged on the door to her and Finn's house. "We need to talk."

Quinn emerged from the doorway, her eyes full of tears and her face evidence that she had been crying. She was holding a piece of paper and immediately Puck felt horrible.

"I have nothing to say to you," Quinn said as she made sure to emphasize that she had no plans of talking with him, now or ever.

"Look about the paper, I didn't want to," Puck began before being interrupted.

"You didn't want to what?" Quinn demanded to know. "You didn't want to hurt me? Well you did and you had to know that this would," Quinn said as she shoved the custody papers straight into Puck's chest and slammed the door shut.

She was devastated. He knew that it would get ugly because he wasn't asking any more. He wasn't even threatening. Those papers that Quinn shoved into his hands meant that it was real. He was using his parental rights to sue and this more than anything almost killed Quinn. Puck hated seeing her like that. He grabbed the papers and headed for his truck to leave her alone until he heard footsteps from behind. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Finn asked as he emerged in the doorway.

"Look Finn I didn't do this to hurt either of you I just want to see my daughter," Puck argued.

"You had to know this would crush Quinn," Finn reminded him.

"Worse than I could have ever imagined," Puck sighed.

"Then why are you doing this?" Finn asked. "Why can't you just leave it alone? We both want you in Beth's life just not in this way.

"That's why I'm doing this Finn, I'm her father and I deserve my right to be her father," Puck argued.

"You stopped having that right when you left," Finn pointed out as he went to close the door.

"Finn wait," Puck said as he grabbed the door.

"No," Finn said as he regained control of the door. "I don't have anything more to say to you without my lawyer here." Finn then slammed the door and left Puck once again alone with his thoughts.

"I never meant for it to get this far Quinn," Puck sighed to himself as he headed back to his truck. He pulled out his keys and slammed his head against the door. "I'm so sorry Quinn," he said as he realized how idiotic he was to sue her. She was the perfect mom and here he was back in their daughter's life just trying to take her away. It was wrong but there was no other way for him to see Beth. He had to do it.


	26. It's Always Been You and Now I Know

**Hillaryscott: as far as what a judge would determine, I have no idea. But you are right, Quinn and Finn are obviously going to have the edge but this is a fiction story so anything can happen and anything will.**

**Just a little note for all of you about this chapter. It was one of my favorites to write and you will see why at the end. I hope I wrote it in the spirit of the characters and in a situation that could be realistically possible. Enjoy **

Finn walked back into the house and saw Quinn sobbing on the couch, the custody papers in her hands and Beth on her lap.

"Baby, it's going to be okay," Finn said as he rubbed her back.

"How is this going to be okay Finn?" Quinn asked with tears in her eyes as she continued staring at the paper. "You are ordered to appear in court to contest the custody of the minor child, Elizabeth Grace Fabray-Hudson at the order of her father, Noah Caleb Puckerman on a date to be determined," Quinn read. "How is this going to be okay?"

"Because we are going to win," Finn told his wife as he tried to get her to smile. "No one is taking Beth ever."

Quinn smiled a little bit as she placed a kiss on her baby girl's head. She was holding on to her for dear life. She didn't ever want to let go. She was afraid if she did Puck would take her away.

Finn took the paper from Quinn and continued to read. "Mr. Noah Caleb Puckerman and Mrs. Santana Maria Lopez are suing Mr. Finn Alexander Hudson and Mrs. Lucille Quinn Fabray-Hudson for the custody of the minor child, Elizabeth Grace Fabray-Hudson," Finn paused. "Why is Santana's name on this list?" Finn asked puzzled.

"She's his lawyer," Quinn said disgustedly. "She's the one that drew up the damn papers."

"How did that happen?" Finn asked.

"I have no fucking clue," Quinn responded. "Oh maybe it's because they have a son together."

"Puck and Santana?" Finn asked curiously.

"Yupp," Quinn replied. "Turns out he did cheat on me when we were together and when Beth was a baby. That is why he claimed he left."

"But in the letter you showed me he said he left because he couldn't be a father," Finn said.

"That was the first one he wrote," Quinn admitted. "He wrote another one about a week later. I didn't show you that one," Quinn said referring to the letter she recently took out to read.

"Oh," Finn said. "So he has another kid."

"I don't know why he can't just leave Beth alone and have his happy ending with Santana," Quinn scoffed.

"Um, I think he already has," Finn added after a few minutes of silence as he continued to read the custody papers.

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked.

"Listen to this," Finn said. "This lawsuit is like twelve pages and it gives our addresses, I guess so we can be contacted."

"Yeah so?" Quinn asked starting to get frustrated.

"Well it lists Puck's address and then says that three people live in his household. It then lists the inhabitants and both Santana and his son are listed on there," Finn observed.

"Yeah he told me she was living him," Quinn said disgustingly. She still hated everything that had to do with Puck being with Santana. Deep down a part of her believed that he would always be hers, not Santana's, never Santana's.

"Quinn it has her listed as his wife," Finn commented.

"What?" Quinn shouted before remembering her sleeping daughter was on her lap. "What?" she repeated in a whisper.

"According to this document they are married," Finn said as he re-scanned the document. "I missed this when I read it the first time but when it lists that they are suing us it says Mr. Noah Caleb Puckerman and Mrs. Santana Maria Lopez-Puckerman."

"Let me see that," Quinn said as she grabbed the papers and turned to the first page. She was speechless when she read it. Mrs. Santana Maria Lopez-Puckerman. She was his wife. That was supposed to be her, Quinn thought. She was supposed to be Mrs. Lucille Quinn Fabray-Puckerman. Beth was supposed to be Elizabeth Marie Fabray-Puckerman. Everything was all wrong.

"Is everything okay?" Finn asked as he noticed her expressions. She was upset, he could tell.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be," Quinn replied as she fought back tears. He couldn't see her cry. Not over this, not over Puck.

"You just seemed upset when I told you about Santana and Puck," Finn observed.

"I am upset," Quinn told her husband, "but not over this. I am upset that Puck is trying to take my baby away. He has decided he wants to be her life years too late. He can't take her Finn, he can't take my daughter."

"You mean our daughter," Finn added. He wasn't trying to open an old wound, but he ended up doing just that.

"She's not our daughter Finn she is mine, mine and that deadbeat's and that is why we are in this mess in the first place," Quinn sighed. "I thought I could have a family for Beth with Puck but when he left I was in pieces. I had no other options, I came to you. You were the last person I wanted to involve just because I had hurt you so bad. You, you were perfect though. You loved me and accepted my daughter as your own and you didn't have to. I'll be forever grateful to you for that Finn."

"Quinn, we've been over this," Finn said as he wrapped his arm around her. "I love you and Beth and it stopped mattering to me what you did years ago. I forgave you. Why can't you forgive yourself?"

Quinn couldn't keep doing this. He was being entirely too nice. She didn't deserve it. She didn't deserve his love. She had to tell him the truth.

"I still love him Finn," she sighed sadly. "I still do and I probably always will."

"Oh," Finn said. He really couldn't think of anything else to say. His wife just told him she loved someone else. "It's going to be okay, we'll work through this," he said after a brief pause. He was still kind of shocked.

"You don't get it Finn," she said as she looked into his eyes. "I'm still in love with him."

"I uh, I don't know what to," Finn said as he fumbled for words. "Do you want to be with him?"

There it was. The question she had been dreading. She knew how much all of this would hurt him but he asked and she had to be honest. "Yes, no, I, I don't know," Quinn sobbed into his chest.

He pulled her away and got up. He started pacing around the room. "How long have you felt this way?"

"Since he came home," Quinn admitted.

"You've felt this way for months and didn't tell me?" he asked, his tone getting a little louder. She could tell he didn't want to yell at her but she couldn't blame him. After all she was breaking his heart once again.

"I, I'm sorry," Quinn said. "I didn't mean for it to happen. I still love you too. I'm in love with you too. You've done so much for me and I'll never forget that."

"So you're grateful," Finn scoffed. "You don't love me out of love, you love me because I took you in when no one else would, a decision I am starting to regret now."

"You can hate me as much as you want but don't ever think that I didn't love you," Quinn responded. "We had something special in high school and it never went away. No matter who else we dated we were always on each other's minds. That is why I broke up with Puck and Sam to go back to you and that is why things never worked out between you and Rachel."

"We wanted different things," Finn said. He didn't specify but Quinn knew he was talking about Rachel.

"You wanted different people," Quinn corrected him.

"Well maybe back then that was the case but now, I feel like loving you has once again left me out in the cold," Finn finished.

"Finn, please believe me that I never meant for this to happen," Quinn continued to cry. "It is just we have history together. We share a kid together."

"So do we," Finn added as he pointed to Quinn's stomach.

Quinn looked at him with a blank expression. She had almost forgotten that she was pregnant with his child.

"Finn, I'm so sorry," Quinn continued.

"We're having a baby Quinn," Finn said much calmer than he had been. "How is this all supposed to work now?"

"I, I don't know," Quinn admitted. "I still want to be with you. I just don't know what to do about all of these feelings."

Finn himself now began to think about his unborn baby. He knew stress wasn't good for the baby and that it wouldn't be safe for Quinn to carry to term. He may have been mad at Quinn but he wouldn't be able to take it if he caused anything to happen to his baby.

"Look, Quinn I love you," Finn said after he made sure he was entirely calmed down. "I love you and I always will and I want to be with you but I don't know if I can handle the possibility of you cheating on me with him. I don't know if I can stay with you knowing that you want to be with him."

"I want to be with you Finn," Quinn said after a long pause. "I want to be with you if you'll have me. I want to raise our daughter together and our new baby boy."

Finn wasn't sure if Quinn was still talking or not because all he heard was baby boy. He was having a son. They were having a son.

"Did you say boy?" Finn asked with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, I'm sorry if I found out," Quinn began. "It was just I was at the appointment last week and it was the one you had to miss and the doctor asked me if I wanted to know and I said yes and I wanted it to be a surprise and," Quinn was interrupted as Finn's lips met hers. They continued to kiss for a few seconds before Finn finally pulled away.

"What was that for?" Quinn asked innocently.

"For our son," Finn smiled. "Look Quinn I get what you are going through. I really have no right to judge because I did the exact same thing to you when I couldn't make my mind up about Rachel. I broke up with you because of what happened but I didn't even think about what could happen to you. I was so selfish I let the girl I loved and her unborn child on her own. I mean who does that? Seriously who does that? I guess it's not you who doesn't deserve a guy like me. It is me who doesn't deserve a girl like you."

"But Finn, this is my fault, not yours," Quinn said still confused at Finn's sudden change of attitude.

"Quinn neither of us is perfect but we love each other. We have that and we always will," he told her. "I promised in my vowels that for better or worse, death until us part I would love you and I meant it. This might be the worse part but it will all be okay because we love each other and we have a beautiful family. You, me, Beth and our little baby boy are a family and I'm not doing anything to mess that up."

"You don't have to stay with me just for the kids," Quinn told Finn.

He laughed and then grabbed her hands. "Quinn, don't you get it?" he asked. "These feelings you have for Puck they are normal but I know that in your heart you love me and want to be with me. You're just confused because he came back into your life and after everything that happened, it makes sense."

Quinn laughed to herself. "I remember saying the same thing to you about Rachel, saying that you would get over your feelings for her and that we would be prom king and queen. I was so stupid back then. I wanted some stupid crown more than I wanted love. I blame myself because that Is what cost me you. If I could have just been a better girlfriend and not cheated on you, things might have been different."

"That right there tells me everything I need to know," Finn smiled.

"I'm confused," Quinn said as she waited for Finn to explain what he meant.

"You might not know it or think you know it but by what you just said I know you want to be with me, not Puck," Finn told her. "It is obvious in your words and your eyes."

Quinn smiled. He did know her better than anyone else after all. Maybe he was right. Maybe she didn't really want to be with Puck. Maybe it was just feelings from the past. Finn was her present not Puck. Finn was her future, not Puck. Even if she didn't believe it right now she had to convince herself it was true. She was having his baby and Puck, well he was happy with Santana. Quinn had everything she wanted Finn and the fact that he still wanted to be with her after everything, it meant they were destined. They had something special. Screw Rachel, Quinn thought. Maybe her and Finn were tethered together after all.

"I'm tethered to you," Quinn smiled as she lovingly looked into his eyes. "I'm tethered to you and only you Finn Hudson and I know that now."

"That's what I wanted to hear," Finn smiled back. "I'm tethered to you too Mrs. Hudson and I am so sorry if for one second I ever believed that I wasn't."

Quinn laughed and wiped a few remaining tears from her eyes as Finn grabbed Beth from her lap and put her in her playpen. He then went back over to Quinn and kissed her passionately. He was in love with her and that was that. He wasn't going to let anyone ruin what they had.

Quinn smiled as Finn kissed her. She kissed back but then suddenly had to pull away.

"What's wrong babe?" Finn asked as she pulled away.

Quinn smiled. "It's the baby, he just kicked."

"He, he kicked?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, do you want to feel?" Quinn asked optimistically.

"Of course," Finn said as he let Quinn take his hand and put it on her stomach. After a few minutes, he felt the baby kick.

He laughed. "Oh my gosh that's him, that's our son!" Finn exclaimed.

"That's our son," Quinn smiled.

Finn was overwhelmed. He had felt Beth kick before but then things were different. It was before everything had happened. He and Quinn were just naïve teenagers then. They were both in high school and going to try to raise a baby. It all fell apart when Finn found out Beth wasn't his but now he knew nothing was going to fall apart. This time he and Quinn were together for good. They weren't in high school anymore. They were still in college but they were grown-ups now. They were adults. Finn had a job and Quinn was a stay at home mom. They both went to school at night. Quinn was studying to be a teacher and Finn was studying sports business and management. He wanted to become an agent. It was the next best thing to playing. Either that or coaching, Finn thought. Unlike in high school they both kind of had their lives figured out. Sure having Beth made things difficult sometimes but Finn wouldn't trade it for the world. In a way everything was still like high school despite all of the growing they both went through. They were still young and they had a baby and now one on the way. Three years ago they were young with a baby on the way. Then they couldn't handle it properly but now, now Finn knew that they could do it. They would make it this time, he thought. Finn, Quinn and their babies would make it as a family. Finn smiled just thinking about it.

"Our son," he repeated after he finished pondering everything. "You and I are going to have a son."

"I hope he's just like his daddy," Quinn smiled.

"Nah, he's gonna be just like his mom," Finn said. "He will be sweet and genuine and loving and caring. Yupp just like his mom."

"Seriously even after everything that happened tonight, how did I get lucky enough to find a guy like you?" Quinn asked.

"We're tethered remember?" Finn said to her. "Destiny brought us together and no one will tear us apart."

"You really are the world's most perfect husband," Quinn said to Finn.

"I try," he smiled back before planting a kiss on her forehead and her stomach.

Quinn managed to genuinely smile for the first time in months and it was Finn that put that smile on her face. It wasn't Puck Quinn realized. He just brought her pain ever since he came back. It was Finn, it was always Finn and finally at least for that moment, everything felt right again.

**And there it is. Hopefully not too many of you thought I was going to break up Finn and Quinn in this chapter. I know it was a bit angsty but overall I think it summed up a lot of the feelings that have been lingering for most of the story. Let me all know though if you guys liked it.**

**Next chapter begins the custody battle!**


	27. Let the Battle Begin

(One Month Later)

"Finn, I'm scared," Quinn said when she grabbed her husband's hand as they walked into the courtroom.

"It's going to be okay baby," Finn said as he squeezed her hand. "We have a great lawyer and you are her mom and a great one at that. No judge is going to take a baby from her mom and a good home."

"I couldn't do this without you," Quinn said.

"I'm here for the long haul Quinn, you never have to do anything alone again," Finn smiled. "Come on, let's go take our seats."

"Okay," Quinn whispered.

Quinn and Finn walked into the courtroom. She managed to stay composed until she saw Puck and Santana. She wanted to grab Santana and strangle her and Finn knew that. He squeezed her hand tighter to let her know it was going to be okay. She thought to herself that if not for Finn she would be in that courtroom for more than just a custody battle.

Quinn walked toward her seat and then noticed Puck looking at her. When she looked back he gave her a weak smile. She just glared at him. In her mind there was nothing to smile about. Quinn continued to look around the room. It was an old glee reunion. Mr. Schue and Emma were there and so were Mercedes and Sam. They rounded out her and Finn's character witnesses. Then she looked to see Kurt sitting with Blaine. He was one of Santana and Puck's character witnesses from what Kurt told her. He had said no hard feelings and that he wanted her to keep her baby. He was only testifying against her because Santana blackmailed him. That didn't surprise Quinn one bit. She still wasn't sure that Santana's son Caleb was actually Puck's baby.

Quinn took one more scan around the room to see Finn's mom who was another character witness and Puck's mom who she only assumed was one of his witnesses. She wished her own mother was there. She wished her parents had cared enough to accept her and Beth but that wasn't the case. Her parents wanted nothing to do with the girl after she had the baby. They had never even seen their granddaughter. Quinn could tell that her mom wanted both her and Beth back in her life but she couldn't do anything. Quinn knew that her mom was scared of her dad. She felt pity for her but at the same time wondered how her own mother could choose an abusive husband over her little girl and said little girl's baby.

As Quinn's eyes returned to the front of the room, she saw her lawyer and Santana return to their seats. The trial was about to begin.


	28. Finn's Testimony

**() Thanks for the review and for enjoying the story. You'll have to wait and see to figure out who wins!**

**Tessie: Haha sorry for the tension the waiting has caused you but I had to end the last chapter on the cliffhanger, it will only make this trial more worth reading. Finn and Quinn have gotten their happy ending and Puck and Santana, who knows. What I can say though is that at any moment, everything these characters know could change. One thing from the past might just affect all of their lives for the future… How's that for a cliffhanger? **

**Okay so the trial is beginning. Before it starts I just want to say a few things. I realized after writing that this may not be a typical custody hearing. I didn't know much about how the legal proceedings would go down so I kind of mimicked just a regular court case. I apologize for any inaccuracies, but hope you all still enjoy the chapter.**

"Sir please state your name for the court," Santana asked when she addressed Finn for cross examination.

"Finn Hudson," he said.

"What is your relationship to Quinn Fabray-Hudson?"

"She is my wife," Finn said. He wished he could tell the court of how much he loved her and how great a mom she is but the lawyer advised him to keep his responses succinct and to the point.

"And your relationship to Noah Puckerman?"

"We were best friends in high school," Finn said as he looked at Puck. "We're not anymore."

"And your relationship to the minor child Beth Fabray-Hudson?" Santana asked.

"She is my step-daughter," Finn said, "and my adoptive daughter."

"Your honor let the record show that Mr. Hudson is not the biological father of Beth," Santana said.

"Objection," Finn's lawyer said. "What does paternity have to do with this line of questioning?"

"Your honor I am just trying to prove that Mr. Hudson is not the child's biological father and that the child does have a biological father who wants to be in her life," Santana said.

"I'll allow it," the judge commented, "but make sure you get to the point quickly Ms. Lopez."

Santana nodded and then continued questioning Finn. "How long have you known the minor, Mr. Hudson?"

"I've known Beth since before she was born. I was her mother's boyfriend when Beth was conceived," Finn said. Now was the time he wished he could lie in court. If he didn't watch as many law shows as he did and didn't knew that perjury could get him jail time he would have.

"So you were dating the child's mother when she conceived the baby but you aren't her father?" Santana asked.

Finn hated this. Santana already knew all of this. Why did she have to bring it up in court? It is not like any of it would help Puck's case, Finn thought. It couldn't could it?

"Puck got her drunk so she slept with him," Finn began.

"Objection," Santana said, "speculative."

"Please answer the question with facts and not speculation Mr. Hudson," the judge instructed.

"I'll ask again, you were dating Mrs. Fabray-Hudson but Beth is not your daughter?" Santana continued.

"No, Quinn cheated on me with Puck," Finn reluctantly admitted.

"Let the record show that Mrs. Fabray-Hudson was unfaithful to her then boyfriend," Santana commented.

"Objection," Finn's lawyer yelled, "relevance?"

The judge waited for Santana to explain. "I am clearly trying to establish a pattern for Mrs. Fabray-Hudson's behavior."

"I'll allow it," the judge said, "but you are towing a fine line Ms. Lopez. Please get to the point."

"Of course," Santana said before the questioning continued. Santana forced Finn to recount all of the memories of the past. She made him relive the moment he found out the truth and his relationships. All of it was to make Quinn and him look bad as parents but Finn didn't see how it would work. Then again, he wasn't a lawyer like Santana was. She knew exactly what she was doing and why.

"Mr. Hudson, were you involved in raising Beth from when she was a baby?" Santana asked.

"No, I uh, I actually wasn't," Finn answered defeated. He knew where all of this was leading.

"When did you become involved in raising Beth?" she asked again.

"Beth was nine months old when her and her mom moved in with me," Finn answered.

"Mr. Hudson do you currently occupy a job?" Santana asked.

"Relevance?" Finn's lawyer objected.

"Judge Robbins I am just trying to establish the child care situation," Santana pointed out.

"I'll allow it," Robbins said. "Please answer the question Mr. Hudson."

"Yeah I work during the day when Quinn goes to school, but my mom watches Beth when that happens," Finn quickly added pretty certain he knew what direction Santana was taking the questioning.

"Is your wife home alone with Beth?" Santana asked.

"Yeah whenever she doesn't have class she is home with Beth," Finn said unsure of how her being home would help Puck's case. It was a question he was actually willing to answer. Things were looking good, Finn thought.

"No further questions your honor," Santana said as she sat down and as the judge instructed Finn that he could step down from the witness stand.

"I think that went well baby," Finn said as he took his spot next to Quinn. "I don't know why Santana was trying to prove that you would be home with Beth though. I think that helps our case more than theirs though right?"

"Yeah, I, I think," Quinn responded. She wasn't as sure as Finn though that it would help. Quinn had a feeling that the questioning was just a means to an end and she was foreshadowing that the end would not be good. Puck had a trump card, Quinn remembered. The only thing that she wasn't sure of was if he would use it.


	29. Everyone Has a Secret

It was day two of the trial and both Finn and Quinn were really pretty confident of their chances. Their lawyer had done an excellent job establishing their good parenting and had been able to prove that they had a home and everything else a baby could need. He also proved that Puck was never a parent and that when he left Finn stepped up. The judge seemed to be on the side of Finn and Quinn and with only a few more testimonials remaining, it was looking good.

"Ms. Lopez-Puckerman, please call your first witness to the stand," the judge said.

"It has to be Puck," Finn whispered to Quinn. "He is the only one left."

Quinn offered a small smile. Everything did look good to this point but Puck still had a chance to blow everything sky high.

"Your honor I would like to call Ms. Rachel Berry to the stand," Santana smirked as she looked at Finn and the blank expression on his face.

"Rachel?" Finn gasped. He had no idea she was in Lima let alone testifying against him.

Quinn could tell by his facial expressions that something was wrong. "This isn't going to be pretty is it Finn?"

"Depends on how Rachel holds a grudge," he said.

"This won't be good then," Quinn sighed.

"Ms. Berry, do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God," the judge asked as he swore in Rachel on the stand.

"I do," she smiled as she quickly glared in the direction of Finn.

"Ms. Berry, did you at one point date the defendant Finn Hudson?" Santana asked.

"Yes I dated him for over a year when we were in high school," Rachel answered with her eyes never leaving Finn's.

"Is there a particular reason why you and Mr. Hudson stopped dating?" Santana questioned.

"Yes actually," Rachel began. "He rudely broke up with me after he decided to allow his ex, Quinn Fabray, move back in with him."

"Let the record show that Ms. Berry is referring to the defendant Mrs. Quinn Fabray-Hudson," Santana pointed out. "You said he rudely broke up with you, was there a fight?"

"There was," Rachel mentioned. "He had just found out that Quinn had quit glee club and was furious. He talked about giving her another chance and how he should have known better. Well that is when I found out her allowed her to move back in. We got into a fight and he broke up with me. He did say that he though Quinn was being selfish and regretted trusting her again. He even said he was going to kick her out, her and Beth."

Finn squeezed Quinn's hand and mouthed an "I'm sorry." She just nodded. She wasn't mad at him for what happened in the past. In fact she wasn't even really paying attention to what Rachel was saying. Her mind was still on Puck's upcoming testimony.

"Your honor let the record show that Beth's adoptive father was willing and ready to kick her out. This does not show that Beth has a good home life or that she can rely on Mr. Hudson to be her father. What this shows is that he is prone to change his mind if and when his wife does something that he does not agree with," Santana added before continuing to question Rachel.

Finn had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He saw the judge take consideration into what Santana said. He was sick. He couldn't be the reason Quinn lost her daughter and it couldn't happen because of a stupid thing he said to Rachel.

"No further questions your honor," Mr. Getty, Finn and Quinn's lawyer said as Rachel sat down. Finn didn't realize it but he had zoned off and missed a good ten minutes of questioning. Now he was more nervous than ever. He had no idea what had happened but he could tell that Quinn looked scared.

"Ms. Lopez-Puckerman, please call your next witness to the stand," Robbins directed.

"I would like to call Mr. Noah Puckerman to the stand," Santana stated as Puck walked up to the stand. He wasn't nervous because he felt confident about his case. He also knew that what he told Santana in secrecy wouldn't get brought up in court. At least she told him she wouldn't. His resolve weakened a bit however when as he moved past her, she whispered into his ear.

"You'll thank me later," Santana smiled as Puck walked up to the witness stand.

It was then that he knew that Quinn's big secret was going to come out and that this was not going to be pretty.

**Drama! So what do you all think? What is Quinn's big secret? What happened that only Puck knows? Will it keep her from getting Beth? Review, review, review! **


	30. But They Can't Keep It

**I just wanted to say that reviews really do matter. I was in no rush to post this chapter especially since I have homework and a room to clean and a pretty busy day, but when I woke up this morning to see new reviews and story alerts and favorites in my inbox and when I realized how eager most of you are to know Quinn's secret, I couldn't wait. I got up and powered through another two chapters all for you guys, so thank you! **

_**-FLASHBACK-**_

"Puck is there anything you want to tell me because it isn't looking so good for your case," Santana observed as she rifled through files.

"No, I told you everything. Are you still calling Rachel tomorrow?" Puck asked.

"Yeah but she can't really help us discredit Quinn. She can only tell us about how Finn was going to kick her out. Even then it's very circumstantial because there is no proof that he asked her to leave," Santana said.

"I don't want to discredit Quinn," Puck said. "I hurt her more than enough already."

"I understand that Puck but this is a custody battle and you aren't going to win if you aren't willing to fight," Santana said as she noticed the look on his face. She could tell he was hiding something. "I'm going to ask you again Puck. You spent seven months with Quinn raising your kid. Is there anything that happened that only you and she know about that can help your case?"

"Well, there is one thing but it's nothing," Puck said as he tried to avoid telling Santana the truth about Beth's first seven months.

"Puck, at this point, nothing is nothing. You have to tell me what happened," Santana pressured.

Puck didn't want to say anything but he was out of options. The truth had to come out.

"When Beth was first born for the first three months, Quinn was really distant for some reason," Puck began. "So at one of Beth's doctor's appointments which I took her to by myself I asked the doctor about it. I told him what was going on and he said that Quinn had PPD. He told me how I could help her and helped me to get her better."

Santana was grinning from ear to ear. "This is perfect Puck. This will definitely prove that Quinn is an unfit mother."

"I don't want to prove her as an unfit mother. I just want to compromise. I only want joint custody," Puck said.

"Babe this could get you full custody," Santana observed as she began to rearrange some of her notes.

"I don't want full custody. I don't want to take Beth away from Quinn," Puck repeated, this time a little angrier.

"This will give you leverage Puck," Santana pointed out. "Even if you don't want full custody if you tell Quinn that you'll bring this up, she'll almost certainly agree to joint custody. Santana continued to write down new notes and piece together new questions now that would work with the PPD thing.

"No," Puck said as he pulled the pen out of Santana's hand. "I can't use this against Quinn. It was one of the hardest times in her life. I would never force her to relive it."

"Oh so I guess you changed your mind about custody then," Santana began, "because choosing not to use this must mean that you really don't want custody. Puck, we have nothing besides this that will get you within inches of your daughter. Quinn and Finn have the stable home life, the perfect family, the perfectly non checkered past. You have a criminal record from time in San Diego, the black mark of leaving your daughter as a baby and the biggest thing going against you is that your daughter doesn't know you. She doesn't know you or your home or your life."

"I thought you were supposed to be my lawyer," Puck said dismayed at how Santana was discrediting his case for custody.

"I am sweetie but these are the facts," Santana reminded him. "Quinn and Finn just look better on paper, not to mention the fact that no judge would take a baby away from its mother unless,"

"Unless nothing," Puck interrupted. "I'd rather lose this case and try my luck with Quinn then bring up her past in court."

"But Puck, it is our only chance," Santana pleaded.

"No Santana and that is final," he said. "When you examine me in court you have to promise me not to mention anything about Quinn's PPD, okay San?"

"Fine," Santana sighed. "I won't mention anything about Quinn's PPD."

_**-END OF FLASHBACK-**_


	31. I Would Lie For You

"Mr. Puckerman please state your relationship to the child in question," Santana asked.

"Beth is my daughter," Puck said.

"And to her mother?" Santana asked again.

"Quinn is my ex-girlfriend," Puck said as he smiled a little at Quinn. She didn't smile back.

"Mr. Puckerman, would you consider Quinn to be a good mother to your daughter?" Santana asked.

"Of course," Puck said. Quinn's lawyer had already pointed out in questioning how Puck was a bad dad but that didn't stop him from wanting to talk about her being a good mom.

"Beth is a perfectly happy and healthy little girl from what I've seen and when Quinn and I were together she was a great mom, managing to finish sophomore year and still take care of our baby," Puck recalled.

To this, Quinn gave a little smile. If Puck had told Santana about her PPD then it certainly would have come out when he was asked about Quinn being a good mother. She started to feel a little more confident about her chances of keeping her daughter.

"She was always a good mother to your daughter and never distant?" Santana asked again much to both Puck and Quinn's dismay.

"Quinn has always been a good mother and I think we've established that," Puck said as he glared at Santana. She promised she wouldn't bring it up, but now Puck knew that was the direction she was headed.

"Mr. Puckerman, I will be the one to determine what we've established," Judge Robbins said.

Santana continued.

"Mr. Puckerman, are you familiar with PPD?" she asked.

Quinn's heart sank. She knew he had told her. It was all over. She was about to lose her daughter.

"Yes," Puck said reluctantly. He hated that Santana was bringing it up, but he was under oath and there was nothing he could do.

"Do you know that PPD or postpartum depression most commonly occurs in mothers when they have their first baby and within the first few months of that baby's life?" Santana questioned.

"Yes," Puck answered again. He knew all about PPD. He read about it when he found out Quinn had it.

"Mr. Puckerman is it correct that shortly after your daughter Beth was born that your girlfriend developed PPD?" Santana asked.

"No," Puck said. He didn't care. He would lie under oath if it meant protecting Quinn.

"Mr. Puckerman, may I remind you that you are under oath. Did Quinn develop PPD?" Santana asked again.

"No," Puck said again as coolly as the first time. He knew if he kept a straight face no one would know he was lying. Besides, he thought, he and Quinn were the only ones who knew about the PPD so if he lied there would be no proof he was lying.

"Your honor, allow me to show you exhibit A," Santana said as she handed the judge a few papers. "The first paper is the subpoena submitted which allowed me to gain access to these records because of doctor-patient confidentiality and the second is the official interview between Quinn and her doctor, Dr. Kyle Martins, in which he determined she did in fact have PPD."

"There wasn't supposed to be a record of the interview, he said it was off the record. How did you find out about it?" Puck shouted as he stood up.

"I order you to sit down now Mr. Puckerman," the judge said as he continued to read over the interview.

"Anytime a prescription is given, the doctor needs to write an account of why he has given it," Santana pointed out. She then took the papers and handed them to Puck.

"Mr. Puckerman, will you please read the first paragraph of page three," Santana instructed.

"No," Puck said angrily as he pushed the papers on to the floor.

"Mr. Puckerman, you will read the paragraph or I will have to put you in contempt," Robbins said.

Puck was furious, but he had no choice now. He had to put the final dagger into Quinn's heart.

"It is in my professional opinion that Ms. Quinn Fabray has postpartum depression. She has displayed all of the signs from my conversation with her and from the fears of her boyfriend and baby's father it is clear to me that she needs medical assistance. I am prescribing counseling, medication and am requesting that she not be left alone with her child. Because of the PPD, Ms. Fabray may be a," Puck stopped reading. He didn't want to finish.

"Finish reading, Mr. Puckerman," Santana ordered.

"Because of the PPD, Ms. Fabray may be a, a danger to herself and the infant in her care," Puck finished. He took one look at Quinn and could see that she was devastated. He never meant to hurt her but for some reason it kept happening. He regretted telling Santana about the PPD. None of this would have happened if he had stayed quiet.

"No further questions your honor," Santana said as she moved to allow Puck to get off the stand. At this moment Quinn bolted out of the room. She was so distraught that she just had to get out.

"I hope you're happy with yourself," Puck said to Santana as he stormed out of the courtroom following Quinn. He had to talk to her and to try to make things right.

"Your honor can I request a recess?" Mr. Getty asked.

"15 minutes," Judge Robbins said as he banged his gavel.

Immediately Finn headed for the door to find Quinn and Santana followed him looking for Puck.

"Did you have to bring up Quinn's past like that?" Finn grilled the Latina. This was the first time he was hearing about Quinn having PPD but he didn't want to let Santana know that.

"Yes Finn because that is what you do when you are trying to win a case," Santana said, patronizing him.

"I know that you are trying to win but did you have to bring up one of her worst moments. I thought you two were supposed to be best friends," Finn reminded Santana.

"We were friends in high school," Santana remarked, "but that ended a long time ago. Besides I'm with Puck now and we are just trying to win custody of his little girl."

"You're a cold-hearted bitch," Finn said as he turned to face Santana. "Both of you are horrible for trying to take a baby away from her mom and her home."

"She is his daughter and soon to be his full time," Santana smiled. "With this coming out that Quinn had PPD, it would be nearly impossible for me to lose this case."

"But Puck's only going for joint custody," Finn observed.

"Not anymore," Santana smirked. "No judge is going to put a baby in a home where the mother has PPD and the father isn't home. You heard the doctor's recommendations. She is a danger to be left alone and you helped me prove that she is alone with Beth all of the time."

Finn just lowered his head. That is why Santana wanted to know if he worked and if Quinn was home alone with Beth. It really was too good to be true.

**So postpartum depression, bet nobody saw that coming.  
>Anyway I didn't really do research into it, so if any of my medical information is wrong I apologize. I only had some brief experience with it from watching a tv show where the mom had it.<strong>

**Hope you guys are okay with this. I promise her health will get better at some point, not going to end the story on that note if that is what you may be worried about. Next chapter: custody of Beth is determined.**


	32. I Needed You

**AD: Thanks so much for the review! I really do care about all of the readers and I know myself I am not patient. If I don't want to wait to write my ideas, I'm certainly not going to make you all wait to read new chapters.**

**Tessie: Thanks for the review, glad you liked the chapter. I know everybody hates Santana right now but I kind of designed it that way. Don't get me wrong, I love her character but Santana was getting too soft for me as far as it being realistic. She is nothing if not HBIC unless she is with Brittany because then you see her sweet side. Although honestly I kind of like Santana bad ass, so we will see where this goes.**

jojokipley: I know it may seem a bit unrealistic to give Puck custody just because of Quinn's PPD but I still might do it. If Quinn and Finn get custody as far as I am concerned the story is over. I wouldn't write chapters of just happy fluff, I'm sorry if you want that because it isn't my thing. I also am not ready for this story to end, so expect a few more plot twists to come.

Puck found Quinn crying near a bench outside of the courthouse. He walked over to put his arm around her but she immediately pulled away when she saw his face.

"How could you do this to me?" she screamed. "I knew you wanted custody but I never thought you would resort to bringing up the PPD."

"Quinn, I'm so sorry," Puck said as he sat down next to Beth's mother. "I didn't want to use it. Santana even promised me that she wouldn't use it in court."

"Why the hell did she even know in the first place?" Quinn demanded to know.

"I told her but I didn't mean to. I mean I regretted it as soon as I said it," Puck said.

"That was something so personal that Finn didn't even know," Quinn told Puck. "But I guess I should have known better than to think that maybe just maybe you wouldn't bring it up even if it meant getting what you wanted."

"I never meant for this to happen Quinn," Puck said as he looked directly into her eyes. "Yes, I wanted us to share custody of our daughter but I didn't want this to come out. I never had any intention of using it to hurt you or to win. I would never do that."

"Yeah, I thought at one point that you wouldn't," Quinn said as she finally looked into Puck's eyes. "You know that was the hardest time in my life. Thinking about it now, I can't believe that there was ever a time when I didn't want to hold my baby. Puck I was thankful for you during the first three months of Beth's life. Without you I don't know what would have happened but you were perfect. You took care of her when I couldn't. I needed you."

"I needed you too Quinn," Puck began. "I loved you and Beth. I still do. There is nothing I wouldn't do for either of you."

"I needed you and then you left," Quinn finished. "You know so much about PPD so I'm sure you knew that even after a mother seems cured of it, that it is possible for symptoms to return."

Puck didn't say anything.

"Oh so I guess you didn't know?" Quinn remarked. "I guess then that you also didn't know that the time period when it is most likely to return is within the first year of the baby's birth especially in the 6th through 9th months?"

"I, I, didn't know," Puck sighed. He wished he had known. He never would have left Quinn and Beth if he knew that they could have been in danger.

"Of course you didn't," Quinn said. "I was distraught for so many reasons when you left but mostly because I was afraid. I was afraid because I had no one. It was just me and Beth during a time when I was so afraid that I could relapse. I clung to her tighter than anything because I was afraid that I could lose her like I lost you."

"Quinn, I'm so sorry, I had no idea," Puck said, hating what he put Quinn through.

"If you're so sorry than you wouldn't have made me relive it in court," Quinn said as she brushed past Puck and back into the courthouse.

He followed her back into the courtroom but they ran into a feuding Finn and Santana and parted ways.

"Puck where the hell did you go?" Santana questioned. "You can't just leave in the middle of the hearing."

"Why, why did you bring up the PPD? You promised you wouldn't," Puck said to Santana.

"Babe I know you're mad at me now but think about it. This time tomorrow, we'll be picking up Beth for her to come live with you. Isn't that what you want?" Santana asked.

"I wanted it but not how you made it happen," Puck snared. "I never wanted to hurt Quinn but I know that is all you wanted. You had ulterior motives the second I told you about the PPD. You just couldn't wait to use it against her."

"This was never about more than you getting Beth," Santana assured him. "Sometimes you have to use information you don't want to in order to make that happen. That is all I did."

"You can save your explaining," Puck said. "Let's just get back in there and get this thing over with. I don't want to prolong Quinn's misery for any longer than I have to. Even if it is just joint custody, she needs Beth more than I realized." Puck then pushed past Santana back into the courtroom.

"You'll be getting a hell of a lot more than joint custody," Santana said to herself as she walked back into the courtroom.


	33. Closing Arguments and Broken Hearts

"Is everyone ready to continue?" Judge Robbins asked to which he received several nods. "Okay, it is time for closing arguments. Mr. Getty, you're up first."

"Your honor, you hold in your hands the decision regarding the life of a two year old little girl. Elizabeth Grace Fabray-Hudson has been living with her mother and her step-father for the better part of a year and a half. She has been nothing but happy and healthy during that time. Beth has what any little girl needs. She has family, a safe home and environment and two parents who love her very much. By the witnesses we talked to including Beth's father himself, no one was able to question the parenting of both Quinn and Finn. Quinn has always been a good mother aside from a medical condition that was in no way her fault. Despite that however she managed to raise Beth wonderfully by herself for two months and then has continued to raise her perfectly now that she is living with and is married to Beth's adoptive father. The two have shown nothing but love for this little girl. Your honor, I am asking you to see that staying with Finn and Quinn is in the best interest of the minor child. Not only does she only know this home and these people but she also has no relationship with her biological father. Taking her from her mother would be tragic especially at this age and it would not be good for her wellbeing to take her from the home and people she knows and loves. I ask you to consider all of this in addition to the testimonials when deciding on the custody of Elizabeth Grace Fabray-Hudson."

"Thank you Mr. Getty. Mrs. Lopez-Puckerman, your closing arguments," the judge instructed.

"As my colleague has said Judge Robbins, you have the responsibility of making sure that the minor Elizabeth Grace is placed in a home where she will be safe, happy and healthy. Although this has been the case so far with her living in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hudson, it is suspect that this will be the case forever. It is a known fact that postpartum depression can come back until the child is five years old. Through Mr. Hudson's testimony it is safe to believe that his wife will be home alone with Beth. This is a danger for little Beth as it is a danger for her if Quinn were to relapse into PPD again. The testimonials have also proved that Mr. Puckerman has been and will be a good father to his daughter again. Mr. Puckerman was her only parent for the first three months of Beth's life when Quinn suffered from PPD and now that he is back in her life he is looking to pick back up from where he started. Your honor, understand that all people make mistakes and Mr. Puckerman expressed that leaving was his biggest mistake. He has established roots in Lima including his mother and sister, his home and his wife and son in addition to Beth. There is no reason to believe that he would leave her again. Your honor, I am asking you to consider the child's wellbeing and safety when you make your decision on where to place her. I am asking you to consider that Mr. Puckerman can and will provide a safe home when it is unsure if Mr. Hudson and his wife would be able to do the same."

"Thank you Mrs. Lopez-Puckerman," the judge said after a few minutes. "I have considered both closing arguments in addition to all of the testimonials and evidence presented. I have a past of never taking a child out of their home especially when the child is happy and healthy like Beth is. Mr. Puckerman, as Beth's father is within his rights to sue for joint custody. In most cases such as these where both parties have proven that they can and have provided a good home for the child, I am inclined to rule in favor of joint custody. That being said, with additional information brought to my attention regarding the medical condition of Mrs. Fabray-Hudson, I believe that it is in the best interest of the two year child Elizabeth Grace Fabray-Hudson to be placed into the temporary custody of Mr. Noah Puckerman until Mrs. Quinn Fabray-Hudson undergoes a medical examination proving that she is no longer a danger to herself or her daughter. Mrs. Fabray-Hudson and Mr. Hudson are granted unlimited visiting rights permitting that Mrs. Fabray-Hudson is not left alone with the child. Once a medical examination is completed it is my strong recommendation that both parties work out a joint custody agreement. The child must be brought to the home of Mr. Puckerman no later than tomorrow evening. Court is adjourned."

Finn was devastated.

Quinn was heartbroken.

Santana was masking her happiness.

Puck was confused.

Finn tried to comfort his wife but it was no use. She ran out of the room in tears as soon as she heard the ruling. She and Finn didn't win sole custody. They didn't even get joint custody. Puck had sole custody all because of some stupid medical condition that wasn't even her fault.

Puck didn't know what to do. He was happy that he got custody of Beth but at the same time he couldn't get the image of Quinn crying out of his head. He never wanted sole custody but that is what he got.

Puck headed for the door to follow Quinn but was stopped by Finn who was himself debating if he wanted to chase after her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Finn asked.

"To find Quinn," Puck simply said.

"You aren't going anywhere near her," Finn responded defensively.

"Look Finn, I get it but I have to just apologize to her for this. It wasn't supposed to happen this way," Puck admitted.

"The hell it wasn't," Finn said. "We were supposed to get custody, Quinn and I, not you. But you had to bring up the PPD. How could you do that to her?"

"Look Finn I know that you didn't know about the PPD before today so save it," Puck added. "I just need to tell her that she can see Beth whenever and that I want joint custody when it is okay."

"I will tell her that for you," Finn said.

"I have to tell her myself," Puck commented back.

"Fine, go ahead but I'm not letting you near her alone. Do you really think that after this Quinn is going to want to talk to you? Other than Santana you are probably the last person she would want to talk to. Quinn isn't a danger to Beth but you are a danger to her and the baby," Finn said as he began to walk away to find Quinn before Puck did.

"I'm not a danger to my daughter," Puck yelled to Finn as they both headed out of the door and began looking for Quinn.


	34. The Custody Fallout Begins

**Tessie: Thank you for understanding where I am coming from. Drama is much more fun to write than fluff. Call me a cynic but that is just how it is. The scenes were very emotional and that is what I was going for. Glad you are enjoying the story!**

**AD: I think everybody feels sorry for Quinn but you are right about that chapter making Santana less likeable. That was actually kind of my point haha. It is kind of easy to feel bad for Puck too because he made a mistake and instantly regretted it. Thanks for the review, glad you are enjoying the story! Reviews are love- and yes I am a nice person haha.**

**Danielle: Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm glad you are enjoying the story and think so highly of it. I put a lot into it and glad you and other reviewers, favoriters and alerters are really enjoying it. Your love of the story really make it worth writing so a million thank yous!**

**Sorry these chapters are going up so late. I meant to update this afternoon but I was stuck at school with a 7pm meeting and my laptop which had the chapters I did for today on it, died and I didn't have my cord to charge it.**

**Anyway, I would just like to address something. As always thanks to all of you for the reviews. I am truly overwhelmed by the kind words and love and support you all have for this story. That being said, the last chapter, the custody one, I got some people who were a little dissatisfied with the outcome. I just wanted to let you all know that this is just the story. I love drama, I write drama. There have been twists and turns throughout this story which many of you love and I'm not going to change that now. Just know that I can guarantee this story will have a happy ending, but for which characters and couples I am not going to reveal. You will just have to keep reading and wait and see!**

The boys were looking for Quinn when they both heard a woman's voice from not far in the distance.

"Help, help, somebody help," the voice called. "A woman needs help. She fell and I think she's hurt."

Both Finn and Puck ran over to the voice afraid that the woman could be Quinn. They were both shocked at what they saw when they got there.

"Quinn?" Puck asked in horror as he saw the mother of his little girl lying on the ground.

"Rachel?" Finn asked confused as he saw his ex. He then came a few steps closer and saw Quinn. "Oh my God Quinn," he said as he leant next to Rachel who was holding Quinn's hand.

"Rachel, what happened?" Puck asked as he stood behind her just looking at Quinn.

"I don't know," Rachel said. "She ran into me on her way out of the courtroom. I was ready to have it out with her the way I never got a chance to but she seemed so distraught. She was crying and seemed a little out of it. She kept saying something about her baby and not letting anyone take her baby away. I told her that she should sit down but she kept walking. She looked disoriented so I followed her a little bit and that is when she just fell and when I called for help."

"Baby can you hear me?" Finn asked as he grabbed her hand. "I'm right here. Nothing is going to happen to you or the baby."

"This is all my fault," Puck said to Rachel. "None of this would have happened if I hadn't sued for custody. She was so worried about me taking Beth away. I never wanted that."

"Finn," Quinn said softly when she saw her husband.

"It's me Quinn, I'm here," Finn said as he rubbed the back of her head. "You're going to be okay."

"Finn, it's too soon," Quinn said. "Something doesn't feel right. I'm scared."

"Everything is going to be okay Quinn," Finn said. "The ambulance is on its way."

"Ambulance?" Puck asked concerned. "I thought she just fainted. Is she going to be okay?"

"It's not her she is worried about Puck, it is the baby," Finn responded.

"She doesn't have to be worried about Beth," Puck said. "I'm not going to take our little girl Quinn," Puck added as he addressed the last part to Quinn.

"Beth," Quinn smiled for a second before grabbing her stomach in pain. "Don't let anything happen to our son Finn."

"Your son?" Puck said softly finally realizing the baby Quinn and Finn were talking about.

Quinn smiled, "He's going to be okay right Finn?"

"He is going to be just fine," Finn smiled back trying not to show any of the fear he was feeling.

Quinn smiled back at him but then closed her eyes. "Quinn, Quinn are you still with me?" Finn asked desperately. "Honey, you've got to keep your eyes open."

Finn began to panic when he couldn't get Quinn to open her eyes. He checked and saw that she had a pulse but her breathing was heavy. None of this could be good for her or the baby.

"Finn, the ambulance is here," Rachel said as she directed the medics where to go.

Puck watched as the medics lifted a still unconscious Quinn into the ambulance. He watched as Finn followed her and shut the door. He watched as they drove away.


	35. Relationships End and Friendships Begin

Puck immediately grabbed his keys and headed for his car. Rachel followed him.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked as she grabbed his arm.

"To the hospital," Puck responded. "I have to see if Quinn is okay."

Rachel could tell he was fumbling for his words. Still holding on to his arm she led him over to a bench to sit down.

"Noah you know that isn't a good idea right now," Rachel told him. "She doesn't need the stress."

"You're right," he said. "She's pregnant. She's having his baby."

"I guess that caught us both by surprise," Rachel commented.

"She could lose her baby and it would be all my fault," Puck added.

"Noah you can't blame yourself," Rachel said as she tried to calm him down.

"Why shouldn't I blame myself?" Puck asked. "Before I came back to town Quinn was happy. Everything was good for her. She had Beth, she had Finn and she didn't even miss that I was gone. Then I came home and I have done nothing but screw up her life since. I took Beth away, I got in between her relationship with Finn, forced her to relive one of the worst times in her life and now she might lose her baby because this stupid custody battle put too much stress on her. I shouldn't have come home. Coming back to Lima was a huge mistake."

"Can you really look at all of this and call it a mistake?" Rachel asked him. "Your daughter is not a mistake and you coming home to get to know her is not a mistake. If you hadn't come back to Lima then you would have never known about your son. He is not a mistake. You never would have gotten married to Santana."

"That last one was a mistake," Puck smiled.

Rachel laughed. "I could have told you that."

"I thought I could make it work," Puck confessed. "We had so much fun in the past but I guess I should have known that we wouldn't be able to do relationship. I mean we were never exclusive in high school."

"You had to try for your son," Rachel observed.

"Sometimes you are too smart for your own good," Puck said, admitting that Rachel was absolutely correct.

She smiled. "So I gather things aren't exactly working out between you two?" Rachel asked.

"Not exactly," Puck admitted. "I mean she told me she loved me but then we got married to help my custody case and things were really good for a while. I mean I think I really did start to love her."

"What changed that?" Rachel questioned.

"Quinn changed that," Puck admitted. "I never stopped loving her and never stopped wanting to be with her."

"You're going to have to fight Finn for a chance at that," Rachel pointed out. "That is also saying that Quinn feels the same about you."

"If she did I doubt she does now that I took her daughter and almost made her lose her baby," Puck sighed. "Rach, I told myself that I would never hurt her the way Finn did but I hurt her worse. I told her I would never leave but I did. I told her I wouldn't cheat on her but I did. Everything I promised her I wouldn't do I did and here I am still thinking I've got a shot with her."

"I think it's romantic," Rachel said.

"I think it's stupid," a voice said from behind them. "When are you going to realize that she isn't right for you?"

"I'm really not in the mood to talk to you about this Santana," Puck said as he noticed his wife.

"Oh but you're in the mood to talk to Berry?" Santana questioned.

"Rachel is a friend," Puck responded, "and I trust her judgment."

"So I guess that means you are still mad at me for what happened in there?" Santana asked.

"Yeah I am," Puck told her. "I told you that in confidence. I told you as my friend and as my wife, not as my lawyer. I even begged you not to say anything but you did anyway."

"Babe relax, you got what you wanted," Santana reminded him. "You got your daughter back."

"Yeah I did, but not how I wanted and it hurt Quinn in the process," Puck commented.

"Is that really the worst thing in the world?" Santana asked. "I mean come on I think she deserves a taste of her own medicine once in a while."

"She's pregnant San and might lose the baby because of all of this stress this whole custody crap has put on her," Puck admitted.

Santana just shrugged it off and that was the last straw for Puck. "The fact that you don't even care that because of what I did and because of what you did says a lot."

"Puck I'm not trying to fight you on this but did you or did you not get your daughter back?" Santana asked.

"Yeah and I have to go get her," Puck said changing the subject. "I want to ease her into everything though so I think for the first few nights I'll just stay with my mom and sister so that Beth can get used to new people before I take her from her home."

"Okay," Santana said knowing why he wasn't coming home. "I'll just tell Caleb you'll see him soon."

"Thanks," Puck said as he watched her walk away.

"What, nothing to say?" Puck asked Rachel who stood silent with a small smile on her face.

"Nope, this is all yours," Rachel smiled.

Puck smiled back at her. "I've missed you Rach," he whispered as he rubbed her arm.

"I missed you too Noah," Rachel said as she rubbed his arm back.

It was awkward for a few minutes until Puck spoke up. "Do you, uh, want to go pick up Beth with me?" he asked hesitantly. "I want to take her to the hospital to see Quinn."

"I'd love to Noah but I don't think it is a good idea. I mean Finn and I didn't exactly end everything on good terms," Rachel reminded him.

"Yeah but I have custody of Beth and I want you to come with me," Puck told her. "Besides you are my friend and I'm sure Quinn will want to thank you."

"Noah, what if something happened to her baby?" Rachel questioned.

"Oh, I didn't think of that," Puck sighed. "She's definitely not going to want to ever see me if I'm responsible for anything happening to them."

"Well as far as we know they are both fine," Rachel said trying to cheer up Puck. "So let's go get your baby girl and maybe that will make Quinn feel better.

"Yeah maybe," Puck said as he grabbed Rachel's hand and headed for his car.

**Another to chapters finished and several more things found out.**

**Puck knows about Quinn's baby? What do you think of his reaction? This chapter for me was Puck getting to be real and honest, to show his softer side and for me it made him super lovable again. You can't really hate him anymore can ya?**

**What do you think of Puck and Santana? Are they done, can they rebuild their relationship? What will happen with these two going forward?**

**What do you all think of Rachel coming back into the story and her and Puck's friendship? I didn't intend it at first because I'm not a huge fan of her character but I think it was fitting how she came back. The fact that she was the one who found Quinn, well of course that had to happen, it wouldn't be a bit funny if it were anybody else.**


	36. A Happy, Healthy Baby Boy

**Danielle: Thanks for the review, glad you are enjoying the story!**

**Unforgiva: Finn and Quinn have had it rough but what can you expect with all of their history and her history with Puck. A lot of variables went into play in writing scenes and although it seems Finn and Quinn will never be happy, that may not be the case. I won't guarantee who will end up with who but I can say that the characters will get a happy ending.**

**AAA: I wouldn't be too worried about the baby.**

**Tessie: I think you are right about Puck and Santana but who knows, maybe she will suddenly grow a conscience in the next chapter haha. I'm glad you don't hate Puck, that was kind of the point of the last chapter. He made mistakes but he is trying to make up for them in the only way he knows how. Remorse means something to him. As for the baby, I think he will be just fine **

**Once again I'd like to thank you all for your reviews. I have been getting more each update and it really means so much. As a side note I just wanted to address a few things before continuing with the chapter.**

**I've gotten some comments about people not being a fan of Puck for what he did to Quinn in the custody battle and before when he cheated on her and left her. This doesn't exactly make him the most likeable character but I hope you all can see that he really is trying to make things better. He came back for Beth and even though he did fight Quinn for custody, keep in mind he tried to talk to her about an arrangement not once but twice before suing, it is clear that he is starting to feel remorseful about everything he did and inadvertently continues to do to Quinn. I don't want you to hate his character as he really is trying to make things right but at the same time also wants to be his daughter's father. I know Finn stepped up and Puck really doesn't have a right to just come back into Beth's life like he never left, but I think it is sweet that he realized the mistakes he made and he is just trying to fix them. So don't hate Puck and keep all of this in mind, because if you do have ill feelings towards him, you probably aren't going to like how I have this story planned to end.**

**That being said, I think I have exhausted every possible plot twist imaginable without totally making this story unbelievable. As I have told some of you in reviews, I think it is headed toward the end soon. I'd love to continue if the ideas are there, but right now I am stumped. I have a few more chapters planned out which will bring all of the stories and close everything out I think but who knows. After I write my last planned chapter, I'll ask you guys if you have any ideas or want to see this story continue. Now, I just wanted to give a heads up.**

**Now, time for the story to continue!**

"I love you," Finn said as he kissed the top of Quinn's head. "Everything is going to be okay."

"Finn, I need you to go to your mom's and get Beth," Quinn told her husband. "There is a bag of her stuff already packed in the closet of your mom's house. I need you to bring that with you. Make sure you open the bag before you come back here."

"Babe, I'm not leaving you," Finn assured her.

"Finn, listen to me. You have to do this. I need to see my baby," Quinn told him.

"Fine, but only after I find out how our other baby is doing," Finn smiled at her. "Oh and I'm not leaving you alone. I'm calling Mercedes to wait here with you until I get back."

"Finn, you're too sweet," Quinn smiled at him and grabbed his hand when she saw the doctor walk back into the room.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Hudson, how are you doing today?" Doctor Jacobs asked.

"Good I think but my wife passed out earlier and we wanted to come here so we could check on how she and the baby are doing," Finn told the doctor. "Everything is going to be okay Quinn," Finn said as he continued to hold her hand.

"I'm sorry but did you say Quinn as in Quinn Fabray?" Doctor Jacobs asked.

"Yeah how did you know, wait, oh my God Doctor Jacobs?" Quinn asked.

"How are you Quinn and how is baby Beth?" he asked.

"We're good but Beth isn't a baby anymore, she is two years old," Quinn told her doctor.

"Wow, they grow up so fast," the doctor smiled. "So you and Noah are having another little one?"

"Umm, no actually he and I broke up shortly after Beth was born. This is my husband, Finn Hudson," Quinn told Doctor Jacobs. "And Finn, this is Doctor Jacobs. He delivered Beth," Quinn told her husband.

"Nice to meet you Finn," the doctor said as he shook the younger man's hand.

"Likewise," Finn responded.

"Okay well let me just take a look at your little guy," Doctor Jacobs said as he hooked up some equipment to allow Finn and Quinn to see the ultrasound of their baby. "He looks perfectly healthy to me. Heartbeat is good. He is growing exactly how he should."

Finn smiled as he watched his son move around on the ultrasound. "That's our little boy Quinn, that's our son," he said as he looked lovingly into Quinn's eyes.

"Our perfect little guy," Quinn said as she also looked at the ultrasound picture.

"Okay guys, I'm going to leave you two alone and get you a print out of this little guy," the doctor said before leaving the room.

"Things are going to get better Quinn," Finn said as he tried to comfort his wife. "We are going to get Beth back and she is going to have a brother. Everything is going to work out."

Quinn offered a small smile. She was less optimistic than Finn especially since she still had to get examined to see about her PPD. Something about Quinn had her feeling that she wouldn't pass the test. It wasn't that she felt distant with Beth, it wasn't that at all. She just had this weird feeling that something would go wrong.

"Okay guys," Doctor Jacobs said as he returned to the room. "Here is a dvd and a picture of the sonogram. He is about three months and is perfectly healthy and all features are growing in at the rate that they should. I'll expect you back in the next two weeks for another check-up, okay Quinn?"

"Of course Doctor Jacobs," Quinn said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," the doctor responded.

"Do you think that you could schedule a psych evaluation for me?" Quinn asked much to her doctor's confusion.

"Sure Quinn but why is that necessary?" Doctor Jacobs asked.

"After Beth was born Puck thought that I might have PPD and when I was examined by a doctor he proved that and gave me a prescription," Quinn confessed.

"I didn't know Quinn," the doctor admitted. "I wish I could have done something to help."

"Yeah me too," Quinn said. "The doctor I talked to was an old family friend of Puck's so he promised to keep it off the record."

"Makes sense," Doctor Jacobs said. "PPD is most common within the first few months of pregnancy however. Beth is two so you shouldn't be worried about it returning."

"I'm not but I have to get the examination in order to get Beth back," Quinn told her doctor.

"Did someone take her because of your PPD?" he asked.

"Yeah, Puck did," Quinn admitted. "It is kind of a long story but he left when Beth was seven months old and came back and decided that he wanted to be in her lie again so he sued for and won temporary custody until I can prove that I'm not a danger to my child."

"Quinn, I'm so sorry to hear that," the doctor said. "I always thought you and Noah would work out. You both seemed so ready to be parents that I just thought it would last."

"So did I," Quinn sighed. "But it is okay because I got back together with my true love Finn and now I just need to prove that I am healthy enough to raise the daughter I have already been raising for two years with no help from Puck."

"I understand how that must feel Quinn," Doctor Jacobs confessed. "My ex-wife tried to take my two boys from me. Eventually we were able to come to agreement for joint custody and I hope you and Puck will eventually do the same, because both of you are great parents. Until then however, I'll do your psych exam so you can get Beth back."

"Thank you Doctor Jacobs, that would mean so much to me," Quinn said as she smiled at Finn. "When can I get it done?"

"I know that you don't want to wait so if you are up for it I can do it right now," the doctor said as he wrote down a few scribbles on his notepad.

"Yeah, that would be great," Quinn said.

"Honey don't you think you should give yourself some time, I mean you did just pass out because of stress," Finn reminded her.

"The sooner I can get my daughter back the better," Quinn told him. "I'm ready to go Doctor Jacobs."

"Okay let me just get a psychiatrist and I'll be back in here for us to do this examination," the doctor told her as he left the room.

"Quinn, are you sure you are ready to do this?" Finn asked concerned.

"I am positive baby," Quinn reassured him. "Now I need you to go get Beth and that stuff I asked you to get okay? I'll be fine here."

Against his better judgment Finn agreed to leave. "Alright baby, but you call me if you need anything," he said as he kissed her on the forehead and left the room.


	37. Realizations and Revelations

Puck arrived at the Hudson residence with Rachel prepared to get Beth but when he got there he realized that his daughter was not there.

"Where is my daughter?" Puck asked when Finn picked up the phone.

"She's at my mom's and you aren't going anywhere near her," Finn told his former friend. "The judge said that we have until tomorrow evening. You can come pick her up from our house then," Finn said before hanging up.

"Well that went well," Puck said as he slid down in front of the doorstep.

"I could have told you they weren't going to give up Beth that easily," Rachel said as she sat down beside him.

"How did I let it get this far?" Puck asked. "I never thought I could ever get to where I am now but here I am. Quinn hates me and doesn't even want me to see our daughter. I had it all before I slept with Santana. Now, I hate what has happened."

"Noah you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened in the past," Rachel reassured him. "You just have to move on from what happened and try to live the new life you have now. You have your daughter back, which is a start. Getting Quinn back as your friend won't be far as long as you two can talk and work something out. You can't keep a baby from her mother Noah."

"I never wanted to keep Quinn out of Beth's life. In fact I just wanted joint custody," Puck admitted. "Besides if anyone should be out of Beth's life it would be Finn but after all that he did for her and Quinn when I wasn't there, I don't think it would be right to keep him from her. She is my daughter though and not his."

"She is your daughter Noah but part of Finn will always see Beth as his little girl," Rachel reminded him. "Not only did he believe she was his for a few months but he also has raised her as his own for the better part of two years."

"I hate to admit it but as always Rach, you are right," Puck admitted. "Finn deserves to be in Beth's life. He can be her stepfather but adopting Beth? That kind of thing only happens when the father isn't aroun…"

"Problem?" Rachel asked as Puck stopped in the middle of his sentence.

"I just realized something," Puck confessed. "Adoptions happen when the father isn't around and I wasn't around. I abandoned my own daughter but Finn he came out of nowhere to step up and be her father. I've been fighting him for only doing what he knew was best. He gave my daughter a father. I can't hate him for that."

Rachel sighed. Puck was right. If he couldn't hate Finn, neither could she.

"Something wrong?" Puck asked her.

"I just realized something too," she said. "I can't hate Finn for breaking up with me. I did for the longest time because I thought that he was just stepping into a life that wasn't his and truth is, it isn't because it is yours, but at the same time it really was his. You weren't around and he never stopped loving Quinn or her baby girl. Being with her and being Beth's father was all that he ever wanted. I don't doubt that he loved me but Quinn, she really is the girl he is meant to be with. He just had to forgive her and maybe it was because of Beth that was able to happen."

"So you're telling me that my leaving brought Finn and Quinn back together?" Puck asked.

"Seems that way," Rachel told him. "Maybe it is for the best though."

"We both lost the loves of our lives and you think that is a good thing? Sometimes I just don't understand you Berry," Puck said.

"You just haven't realized it yet Noah," Rachel sighed.

"Realized what?" Puck asked confused.

Rachel sighed again. It took her years but she had finally come to the conclusion that maybe Finn really wasn't the guy for her. She started to believe the same for Puck but he was oblivious. It was either that or the fact that he just didn't want to face the truth which was really right in front of him.

"Nothing," Rachel said as she changed the subject. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Fine," Puck said as he followed Rachel to his car.

Puck didn't know what was going to happen with Quinn and Beth but he did know that he was glad to have a friend like Rachel in his corner.

**There you have it. I hope this makes all those still Puck haters out there soften a little to him. He really is realizing what he has done wrong and realizing that he can't take Beth from Finn or Quinn. He can't hate him for being the good guy. So what do you all think of Puck's realization? Do you think this means he will stop trying to win back Quinn, since she is happy with Finn? Do you think he is going to negate his right to custody and give Beth back to Finn and Quinn? **


	38. Crazy Ideas

**Tessie: It looks like joint custody is in the works the way Puck was last chapter. I can't see him wanting to keep Beth away from Quinn any longer than he has. As for Quinn/Finn winding up together, it seems likely but I won't count anything out. Rachel did realize that they are meant to be together and I am glad you picked up on that. I'm wondering if you also picked up on her subtle comment about another couple that is meant to be together…**

**AD: Thanks so much for the awesome review! I am trying my best each chapter and reviews definitely help. Makes me know this is all worthwhile so thank you for the kind words- all of you!**

**I received one more unsigned and anonymous review, and yes that is how you spell anonymous not spelled like this: ANOYNOMUS. I am choosing not to respond directly to this review because of its somewhat harassing content but I will say this.**

**When I write fanfiction, I write it because I have story in my head that I want to see develop on paper. I write it imaging the characters actually acting out these scenes and in a perfect world, they would. Anyway I write for me. I take all of your suggestions because they do help but ultimately this is my story and I will run with it in the direction I choose to. That being said, I don't mean to sound harsh, especially because this isn't directed at any of my loyal readers who are loving this story. It is directed at one particular person that actually gave me an ultimatum. Either Quinn get Beth back or this person said they will find a way to delete my account. Now, I'm pretty certain that writing a story and making a decision on what I want to happen in it is not grounds to lose my account but if it happens, it happens. If I lost my account I would probably just create a new one or just write for my own pleasure and not post stories. And honestly if I hadn't gotten so many positive reviews from all of you I probably would have. I'm not going to let one person ruin it for all of you. I understand that my story might not please everyone and I am okay with that. I welcome criticism but threatening to have my account deleted over something I wrote, well that is a little much. Not to mention it is just a story and this person is making a bigger deal out of it than they should. Sorry for the rant but I just wanted to clear this up for anyone who may have been curious.**

**Now because I got this review I am going to warn you all that the next few chapters are most likely not going to fall into favor with most of you. I am only saying this because I believe that things have to get worse before they get better and things are going to get worse. If you bear with me however, I promised a happy ending and I will be delivering that. In order to give you all the finish I have planned however I need these few chapters of angst to really be able to tie everything together. So I hope that all of you keep reading past the bad stuff because I can promise you, happiness isn't far away!**

"Mom, I'm here to get Beth," Finn said as he walked into his mom's house.

"Be down in a minute Finny," Carole responded as she got Beth ready.

"Thanks mom oh and can you grab Beth's diaper bag from the closet? Quinn wanted me to get that too," Finn told his mom.

"Here you go Finn," Carole said as she handed Beth and her bag to Finn. He hugged her tight. He didn't want to let go.

"So how did the case go?" Carole asked her son.

"Not good," Finn confessed. "Puck got temporary custody until Quinn can prove that she isn't a danger to herself or Beth."

"Danger? How is she a danger to her daughter?" Carole asked.

"Well Quinn never told me this, in fact she never told anybody. Only Puck and the doctor knew," Finn said. "Quinn had PPD when Beth was born and because it can come back any time before the child turns five, Quinn has to pass an evaluation before we can get Beth back. Even then the judge encouraged us to work out a joint custody agreement."

"Oh, I'm so sorry son," Carole said as she put her arm around her son. "How long until you have to give her up?"

"We have until tomorrow night," Finn told his mom. "So I'm taking her to the hospital now to pick up Quinn."

"Quinn is in the hospital?" Carole asked concerned.

"Yeah but it was nothing. She just got a little overstressed and when Puck got Beth she passed out. Everything is okay though. She is fine and so is your grandson," Finn told his mother.

"Did you say my grandson?" Carole asked excitedly. "You two are having a son?"

"Yupp, a baby boy," Finn gushed. "He is perfectly healthy too according to the doctor. We couldn't be happier."

"I'm so glad to hear it," Carole smiled. "You and Quinn are finally getting the happy ending you deserve."

"Yeah, now all we need is to get Beth back and it will all be perfect," Finn admitted to his mom. "I'm going to take her to the hospital now but I'll come back with her tonight so you can say goodbye."

"Sounds great Finn," Carole said as she kissed her son and her granddaughter. "Bye sweetie, bye Finn."

"Bye-bye," Beth said.

"Bye mom," Finn echoed.

He took Beth and put her in her car seat before remembering that Quinn wanted him to look in the bag. He opened it up and immediately noticed a note in her handwriting along with three plane tickets, one way, to Canada.

_Dear Finn,_

_The fact that you are reading this note means that we lost custody of Beth. I didn't tell you this but when Beth was a baby I had PPD and it was the worst time of my life. Puck knows about it and I'm afraid that he could use it against us in court. I was hoping that he wouldn't but the only way we would have lost custody would be if he did so I'm sorry. Sorry I didn't tell you this before and sorry that it is the reason why we lost our daughter._

_All this being said I can't live without Beth in my life. Last night I ordered these tickets and they are for us to leave tonight. I called my aunt in Ontario and she said that we could stay with her until we figured something else out. I know being on the run isn't something that either of us want to do but I have to take Beth. I understand if you don't want to come with me but I want you to come. If you don't however I'm still going to have to go. I love you so much but I can't live without my baby._

_I wish there was some other way but there isn't. _

_Love, _

_Quinn_

"What is she thinking?" Finn said to himself as he re-read the letter.

Finn knew that going on the run with Beth was a horrible idea. It would lose them custody for sure. All Quinn had to do was wait a couple of months and then they would have Beth back. Running away with her though was insane. It was breaking a court order and Finn knew if they got caught that neither of them would ever see their daughter again. He had to talk Quinn out of it before she made the biggest mistake of her life.


	39. Another Letter

"Quinn, please tell me you aren't serious," Finn said as he walked into her room at the hospital. "We can't just leave and," Finn paused when he noticed his wife was crying. He went over to her with Beth on his lap. "Baby what happened?"

"I, I still have symptoms," Quinn tried to say through sobs. "Doctor Jacobs said that because of the stress and new baby that there is a strong likelihood that I would start neglecting Beth again."

Finn was crushed. He was so sure she would pass.

"It's going to be okay Quinn. I know you'll pass next time you take it when you aren't stressed anymore," he assured her.

"Doctor Jacobs said that they can't test me again until after the baby is born because it wouldn't be good for me or him," Quinn admitted.

"Baby, I'm so sorry," Finn said as he held her close. "Beth is here now though and we have until tomorrow with her and then I promise you I will figure something out."

"I already figured something out Finn," Quinn said as she stroked her daughter's blonde hair. "Did you grab the bag?"

"Yeah I meant to talk to you about that," Finn said. "We can't go to Canada."

"Why not?" Quinn asked. "Just think about it Finn. It would be perfect. You, me, Beth and our little guy, we could move there and start a new life."

"Quinn, our life is here," Finn told her. "My job, our friends and family, our home. It is all here in Lima."

"Puck's in Lima," Quinn retorted. "His family is here and I don't want to be a part of that."

Finn sighed. "We already are a part of it Quinn. We share Beth with him and nothing we ever do will change that. He is her biological father and at least for now he is her legal guardian too. The sooner we accept that the sooner we can move on and try to make this whole family thing work."

"It is never going to work," Quinn said sternly. "You, me, Puck and Beth? That dynamic would never work. The only way we can keep our daughter is if we get out of town with her now."

"Quinn if we break the court order not only could we be charged with kidnapping but if and when Puck and the cops find us, we'll never see Beth again," Finn informed her. "Do you really want that to happen?"

"We won't get caught Finn, I have everything figured out," Quinn expressed happily as she went over the plans in her head. "We'll have a new life and new names and everything is going to work out perfectly."

"Quinn you are out of your mind, this would never work," Finn confessed. The way Quinn was talking and acting, it scared him a little. He didn't know anything about PPD, but this didn't seem like it was it. It seemed like something totally different and it worried him.

"It is going to work Finn. As soon as I get checked out we can leave," Quinn said as she grabbed her little girl from his arms. "We're going on an adventure baby girl, you, me and daddy."

"I'm going to go find Doctor Jacobs to see if we can check you out," Finn said as he kissed his wife and little girl.

Finn really did want to see when they could get Quinn out of the hospital but what he wanted even more than that was to talk to her doctor to see how the exam went. He needed to know why all of a sudden she was acting so weird. Taking Beth out of the country? He knew that was a horrible idea. He knew that she knew it was a horrible idea.

**There is a bit of the getting worse stuff I was talking about. Yes Quinn still has symptoms and yes she won't get Beth back just yet. As for other questions, how will Finn handle Quinn's PPD coming back? Will he know what to do? What will be Puck's role in all of this? Can he help her?**

**Quinn will get over the PPD symptoms eventually but I'm curious who do you think will be the one to help her overcome? Will it be Finn, her loving husband or Puck, her ex but the one who went through the PPD with her before? Review!**


	40. Reaching Out for Help

**Tessie: She is in fact hinting at multiple couples. Hint: One of them isn't Puck and Santana. Quinn is going to be grounded in a sense before she can do something she will regret. Thanks for the review and glad you are loving the story!**

**AD: Thanks for the review and glad you love the story! As for other reviewers I know some people won't like them and I am okay with that. I welcome constructive criticism- it helps writers get better. I also welcome all of your and other reviews as well! Love you all for that!**

**Anonymous: It is okay, I know what it is like to have a bad day. I'm sorry if I went off too harshly. We all have our opinions and we just have to respect those of others and let them think and feel and write how they choose. As I've said before though, the story does have a happy ending I think even you will be pleased with.**

**FF: Fuinn is awesome. Thanks for reviewing. As this is a Fuinn story, or at least supposed to be, it will probably be him to lead the way. Can't say he won't need some help though…**

**My-Critique: I agree with you about Quick. The substance of the characters has started to get a little weak and I am sorry for that. It is just the story is coming to an end and Im trying to sufficiently wrap everything up. As for Quinn and Puck, part of her will probably always love him, but she knows that is just because of their past. To clear it up, she loves Puck, she is IN LOVE with Finn. I know it is pretty angsty but the drama will end eventually. When it ends, the story will end but there will be a happy ending. Thanks for the review- I welcome the constructive criticism and your thoughts.**

Finn didn't know what to do about how Quinn was acting so he talked to the only person he could. Luckily for him that person just happened to be in the waiting room.

"What are you doing here?" Finn asked when he saw him. Not wanting to look at all grateful that Puck was there, Finn kept his expressions a little pointed.

"I hope it's okay, I came to talk to you and to Quinn about Beth," Puck admitted as he rubbed his head. He was really unsure of what he was doing but with Rachel standing beside him gently squeezing his hand, he knew he was doing the right thing.

"What did you want to talk about?" Finn asked, somewhat softening in his tone. It was becoming harder for him to hide the fear he had at how Quinn was acting and at what was going to happen.

"I want joint custody," Puck said, "and I don't care if Quinn passes some stupid test or not. I want you guys to take Beth and then maybe I can get her on weekends or something, but I don't think I can take her from the home she has known most of her life."

"That's uh, that's great Puck," Finn said as he slumped down into one of the waiting room chairs.

Puck didn't notice it right away, but Rachel did. She could tell something was wrong with Finn. He should have been thrilled that Puck was giving Beth back but something was off.

"Everything alright Finn?" Rachel asked.

Finn looked up at her. He could have lied and said everything was fine but he didn't. He needed her and Puck. He needed their help. Looking at the pair, Finn just shook his head no.

"Is it Quinn, is it the baby?" Puck asked concerned. He couldn't take it if something happened to Quinn, something that could have been his fault.

"The baby, our son, he's fine," Finn began as tears entered his eyes. "It's Quinn."

"Oh my God is she okay?" Rachel asked as she squeezed Puck's hand a little harder. She could tell both he was barely holding it together himself.

"Physically, yes," Finn told his friends. "Emotionally, I, I just don't know. She had a pysch exam and they couldn't clear her because of stress and the baby and I think it is all just getting to her and she is acting different."

"How different?" Puck asked seriously. He didn't want to believe it, but from what Finn said he could sense his worst fears coming true and in the pit of his stomach had a feeling that her PPD was back.

"I think it's the PPD," Finn confessed. "I don't know what to do."

"Can I see her?" Puck asked tentatively.

"You know how to handle this Puck, you've been through it before. Maybe you can talk to her," Finn told him.

Puck nodded his head. "I'll see what I can do."


	41. Being Friends Again

"Quinn is going to be okay Finn," Rachel said a few minutes after Puck went to talk to Quinn.

"I hope so but she is acting really weird and it is scaring me," Finn confessed. He had no idea why he was talking to Rachel about this but he had to tell someone. He needed someone, anyone to try to talk some reason into her. "It's like I told you and Puck, she wants to take Beth and leave the country."

"She wants to go on the run?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah to her aunt's house in Canada," Finn continued. "She wants us to start new lives and get new names and go on the run."

"Finn, you have to know that this is not a good idea," Rachel told him. She was thinking about how this would end for him but at the same time she was thinking about Puck and what taking Beth would mean to him. He loved his little girl but he loved Quinn too. She had no idea how he would react if they both just disappeared.

"I know Rachel and I tried to tell her," Finn admitted. "I told her that it would be kidnapping and that we would never see Beth again if we got caught."

"And you know that Puck wouldn't rest until he got her back," Rachel informed Finn.

"Yeah I know and I really don't want to take Beth away from him," Finn told his ex. "I know he loves her and he is her father. I have to think of what is best for Beth and taking her to Canada isn't it. I'm just afraid."

"Afraid of what?" Rachel asked.

"Afraid that I won't be able to talk her out of leaving," Finn confessed.

"I'm sure if anyone can do it, it's you Finn," Rachel said as she put her hand on his shoulder.

"She said that she'll leave without me if I don't go," Finn said as he looked into Rachel's eyes. "I can't lose her and I don't want her on her own. If I can't talk her out of it, I might just have to go."

"You have the biggest heart Finn," Rachel said sweetly. "When you love somebody you love with such genuine and compassionate love that you would do anything for them. I'll understand if you have to leave because you would never abandon Quinn and your baby."

Finn looked at Rachel. She was being so nice to him and he had no idea why. "Rach, I'm sorry for how things ended between the two of us. I was rude and selfish and you deserved better."

"I forgive you Finn," Rachel said as she put his hands into hers. "It took me a long time but I forgive you. I wasn't exactly the nicest person either. I never should have said anything about you playing house with Quinn and Beth. It was uncalled for. I realize now that you were just getting a second chance with the girl you really loved. I can't be mad at you for that."

"I loved you too Rachel, I really did," Finn confessed. "It is just I always felt that I belonged with Quinn and that Beth should have been mine. Getting to live that life was all that I ever dreamed of. Now that Puck is back however, reality is setting in. Beth isn't mine and Quinn, she will never fully be mine. The sooner I accept that, the better chance I think we'll have with working out something with Puck."

"That is definitely the best thing for Beth," Rachel said. "I better go though, before Noah gets himself into trouble. He has been gone a pretty long time."

Rachel got up to walk away but Finn grabbed her arm before she could get far. "Wait," he said. "Puck might be able to help her. I have to let him try."

"I doubt she'll want to talk to him but it's worth a try," Rachel shrugged. "Should we go find them?"

"Nah, I think if this is going to work it just has to be him, her and Beth in the room. Maybe that will convince her," Finn said.

"You're not worried that the three of them together, alone won't bring back old feelings?" Rachel asked. "He told me he still loves her."

"She told me she still loves him too," Finn admitted, "but I trust her. I know that she loves me and I know that she wouldn't ruin anything between us because of him."

"Trust will keep your relationship alive," Rachel said.

A few minutes of silence went by before Finn spoke up. "I'm glad we are friends again Rach," he said as he smiled at her.

"Me too Finn. I've missed your friendship," Rachel told him.

"Me too," Finn smiled.

**Hope this satisfies any Finchel fans who are reading and for those non Finchel fans this scene is basically just to tie up this storyline. Finn and Rachel can now both move on fully but they are still friends and it will play a part in the story going forward.**


	42. She's Gone

**AD: Puck will play a role in calming Quinn but even he will accept help. Thanks for the congrats and for review #99 haha. I don't know what you mean by it getting sent if it hits 100 but thanks for the kudos and the compliments. Glad you like the story!**

**Tessie: No problem, glad we are on the same page haha. Puck is still a nice guy, that is what I have been trying to drill into everyone's heads ever since he came back to Lima. Some people haven't accepted it and still want to hate him which is totally fine but I have written him sweet scenes to hope to get people to like him again. As for Finn, he was always sweet. As for on glee actually, I did disagree with some of Finn's behavior, in this story he was literally perfect. As for Santana, I think she is done in this story but I won't rule anything out. Thanks for the review and love!**

Also I just wanted to give a shout out to A Sparkle and A Twirl, because that review actually inspired the events in this chapter.

It couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes later that Puck returned a confused look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked, immediately noticing his expression.

"Quinn's gone," Puck responded.

"What do you mean gone?" Finn asked, equally confused.

"I mean gone as in not in the hospital," Puck clarified. "I went into the room you told me to go to and no one was in the bed. I looked around and waiting a bit to see if maybe she was taken for tests or whatever but nothing. Then I saw this," Puck said as he handed Finn an envelope addressed to him.

Finn took the note and read it out loud trying to make sense of where Quinn was. "Dear Finn, I love you and I always will but I have to do what is best for my daughter. You know where to find us and you are always welcome. Love, Quinn."

"What is she talking about Finn?" Puck asked starting to get a little upset.

"I, I, I," Finn started to cry as he sat back down in the chair. He knew exactly where Quinn was and it broke his heart. Maybe it wasn't too late. Someone would have had to see her leave. Finn wiped the tears from his eyes and noticed a piece of paper fall out of the envelope. It was his plane ticket. The other two were gone, just like Quinn.

"I have to go," Finn said as he got up and began walking toward the door. He was almost out of the hospital before Puck grabbed his arm, not letting him leave.

"Let go Puck," Finn said trying to escape his grasp.

"You know something," Puck said. "Where are Quinn and Beth?"

"I can't say, I just have to go, I have to bring her back," Finn continued.

"From where Finn?" Puck demanded to know.

"From trying to leave the country," Finn admitted. He really didn't want to fight Puck anymore. He just needed to let him leave before Quinn got on a plane. She was in no condition to travel let alone be by herself with Beth. It scared Finn, a lot.

"What?" Puck asked, releasing his grip on Finn.

"She started acting all weird saying she couldn't live without Beth. Instead of giving her to you tomorrow she had this crazy plan for all of us to leave the country and go live with her relatives in Canada," Finn said as he now faced Puck.

"Canada?" Puck asked. "She was going to take Beth and go to Canada?"

"Yeah, and I tried to talk her out of it but she was acting weird and that is when I went to talk to you and that is when she must have left," Finn said quickly. "I have to go now before it is too late. I have to stop her."

"I'm coming with you," Puck said.

"What?" Finn asked.

"I'm coming with you," Puck repeated. "I'm not letting Quinn leave with Beth. It's not a good idea. If the PPD is back, I'm worried for both of them, their safety."

"Me too," Finn agreed. "Fine you can come, Rachel too."

"Me?" Rachel asked confused as she appeared beside the boys.

"Yeah, maybe if Quinn talks to a girl it is a different perspective it might help," Finn clarified.

"He might be right," Puck said to Rachel. "It can't hurt, besides I'm going to need your support."

Rachel smiled. "Okay, I'll do it."

"Let's go guys, we don't have much time," Finn said as he got into his car. He was going to bring Quinn back no matter what it would take.


	43. When the Worst Fears Come True

"Quinn?" Puck asked as he sighted her in the airport terminal. He was so relieved she hadn't left yet.

"Puck, what are you doing here?" Quinn demanded to know as she tried to hide her bags from Puck. It was no use though. He already knew.

"I could ask you the same thing," he said. "I just came to see if you were okay," he added sweetly. "I felt so horrible about my role in all of this and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I caused anything to happen to you or the baby."

Quinn offered him a small, albeit fake smile. "Thanks," she said curtly. "Everything is fine."

"I'm glad to hear," Puck smiled. He moved from his spot in the hallway and sat in the chair next to her and Beth. He figured the ice had been broken and upon noticing his daughter sitting contently on Quinn's lap, he couldn't take his eyes away from the girls. He needed to know if Quinn was okay but at the same time he didn't want to spook her so he played along as if he didn't know what was happening.

"I told you I was fine, why are you still here?" Quinn asked as she wrapped her arms around Beth. She wasn't going to let him take her. Not now, not ever.

"I uh, thought we could talk," Puck said.

Finding out if Quinn was okay and seeing his daughter were not the only reasons Puck came to see Quinn. He wanted to come with Finn to bring her back but he wanted to apologize for bringing up the PPD in court. He still felt horrible about it.

"Is that your, your son?" Puck asked as he noticed the sonogram photo on top of one of her bags.

"Yeah, that's him," Quinn said as she found herself softening a bit.

"Can I look at it?" Puck asked. Quinn nodded and he reached over and grabbed the picture off of the table. "He looks so tiny," Puck observed.

"Yeah, Doctor Jacobs said he is three months old," Quinn admitted.

"Wait a second," Puck said after a few seconds. "Doctor Jacobs as in Beth's doctor when she was born?"

"That's him," Quinn said.

"Small world," Puck said softly.

"I suppose so," Quinn added. "He asked about you."

"Really?" Puck laughed. "I didn't know I was all that popular around this town."

"He asked because he recognized me and said at first he was happy that you and I were still together and having another baby," Quinn snapped. She wasn't in the mood for Puck's jokes.

"Oh," Puck said softly. "I, I didn't know." He put his head down. Now he felt really bad. Nothing like bringing up the past when two people are trying to reconnect, Puck thought. That was sure to put a wrench in his plans.

"Quinn, I'm so sorry," Puck said after a few minutes of silence. The only sound in the room was coming from Beth. She was playing with one of her toys but was smiling at Puck. The airport was full of people, but these two were the only ones Puck was focused on. He was wondering where Finn and Rachel were.

Puck loved that smile. It reminded him so much of Quinn, so much of a simpler time when he was happy. It brought him back to when he and Quinn and Beth were a family, the perfect little family. He had no idea how they went to such drama free times to where they stood now. How did happiness turn into hate? Puck thought about this as he continued to stare at his little girl. She was so perfect.

"Stop saying sorry Puck," Quinn said breaking him out of his trance. His gaze was still fixed on his daughter though. He couldn't take his eyes away from her face. She looked so much like Quinn.

"I'll be sorry forever Quinn," Puck sighed. "I missed so much. I gave up so much by cheating and then leaving. No matter what I do I will never be able to make up for it but in the sake of all honesty I wasn't apologizing directly for that."

"You weren't?" Quinn asked surprised.

"No I was actually," Puck began before he was cut off. Finn had told him Quinn didn't pass her PPD test but he hadn't really thought much about it until he noticed some pamphlets hanging out of one of the bags.

"What are you staring at?" Quinn asked defensively. She followed his gaze and noticed he was looking at the pamphlets. She felt so embarrassed. She didn't want him to know, let alone lecture her about it. It was part of why she was leaving anyway. "You need to just go, leave now," Quinn said with tears starting to fall.

Puck didn't say anything. He couldn't. He was just about to apologize to Quinn for bringing up the PPD and now he had seen the pamphlets and had his fears and Finn's account confirmed.

"What are you waiting for just go," Quinn instructed. "I'm leaving Lima and taking Beth with me and you can't stop me," Quinn said as she tried to hide the tears in her eyes. Unfortunately for her it wasn't working. The tears began to fall and Puck noticed. He reached his hand over to wipe a few from her cheek. She just stared at him as he rubbed her face.

"Please just go," Quinn repeated when she realized how close he was getting and comfortable she was getting with his touch. She also didn't want him to see her like this, so broken, so afraid.

"I'm not going anywhere and neither are you" Puck said as he used his free hand to grab hers. "It is going to be okay Quinn."

She pulled away from his grasp. She was tired of people constantly telling her that things were going to be okay. For once in her life she just wanted things to already be okay. No, she wanted things to be perfect. She thought she deserved at least that much for all she had gone through.

She wanted to fight him but she was almost out of strength. Besides, she thought, the nicer she was the easier she could get rid of him and call Finn to make sure he got her note and that he would be meeting her. Now that she found out she couldn't legally get Beth back until after her son was born in six months, she was more convinced than ever that leaving with Beth was the right thing for both of them.

"It isn't going to be okay Puck, it's never going to be okay again," Quinn sobbed as she continued to hold Beth close. "For my kids' lives I am constantly going to have to worry about this stupid postpartum crap. I will always go to sleep and wonder if I will wake up wanting to be around my kids. I will go every day with the reminder that I am a danger to my kids."

"You're not a danger to your kids," Puck assured her. "I have never once worried about Beth being in your care. I wouldn't have left if I ever had a doubt in my mind that Beth wouldn't be safe. Well, that isn't exactly what I meant. I mean that you are a good mom, the best mom. I know our daughter loves you and I'm sure your baby boy will too."

"If that was supposed to make me feel better it didn't," Quinn admitted. Just like that, as Finn had observed earlier, Quinn's mood suddenly began to change. "Hearing that said in court it will be with me forever."

"That's all my fault and I regret it more than you know," Puck said.

Quinn started laughing and not the cute kind of laugh. It was a scary kind of laugh. It freaked Puck and additionally Beth out. She began to cry. Quinn didn't seem to notice.

Puck felt a lump in his throat. He recognized this behavior. Finn may not have known what it was but Puck certainly did. He had lived through it before. It made him sick. He couldn't help but feel responsible for all of this coming back. She had been happy until he dredged all of this up again. If he hadn't forced her to court and brought up the PPD, maybe just maybe it wouldn't be back.

"Here Bethie," Puck said as he picked his crying daughter up from her mother's lap. "It's going to be okay baby girl, daddy's here." He knew the routine. He knew exactly what to do to calm Beth down when her mother was like this.

He finally got the little girl to stop crying and she fell asleep in his arms. Quinn watched with a blank expression on her face. It was almost like she didn't recognize Beth. Puck had seen this all before too. He couldn't help but go back to the first time that he thought something might be wrong with Quinn.

**A little bit of closure on their end but more to come in the next chapter, including Puck recounting some of the things Quinn did when he first noticed the PPD. I repeat as far as if these things could actually happen if someone had PPD I don't know, but for the sake of this story they are there. Stay tuned for tomorrow!**


	44. It Hurts To Remember

**E: It might go that way, I think I'm leaning that way but we will see.**

**AD: Oh okay that makes sense now haha. Thanks for the review and glad you liked the chapters!**

**Tessie: She deserves for things to get better, it is only fair what with all she has been through. Thanks for the review and so glad you liked the chapter!**

_**(FLASHBACK)**_

"Quinn, I'm home," Puck said as he walked in his house. His jaw dropped when saw the scene.

Quinn was standing over Beth's crib holding the infant in one hand and a pillow in the other. If he didn't know better Puck would have thought that Quinn was trying to smother Beth. It turned out however that is exactly what she was trying to do.

Immediately Puck grabbed his infant daughter out of Quinn's arms. She didn't say anything. She just stood there with the pillow and continued to look over Beth's crib.

"Quinn what the hell were you doing?" Puck asked furiously. "Why were you trying to, I, I can't even say it. Just why?"

"She just kept crying and crying and crying," Quinn began. "She wouldn't stop. So I got the pillow to help her go to sleep."

He could tell by her voice that she wasn't herself. After making sure Beth was safe, Puck went back over to Quinn. She was shaking uncontrollably. He looked into her eyes and saw a mixture of fear and darkness.

"Quinn, are you okay?" he asked as he sat her down on the couch. "You just tried to smother our daughter. You could have killed Beth."

"Beth?" Quinn asked seemingly snapping out of it. The glimmer in her eyes returned and she stopped shaking. "Puck where's my baby?" Now it was her turn to be scared.

Puck looked at her in shock. It was a different Quinn talking to him now then who was just a few minutes ago. It scared him. He didn't know what to do. "You, you don't remember?" he asked concerned.

"No, remember what?" Quinn asked, a look of fear in her eyes. "Where is Beth?"

"She's right here," Puck said as he handed Quinn their little girl.

Quinn breathed a sigh of relief and then began to play with Beth like nothing had happened. Everything was normal again.

At first Puck thought it was just a thing because Quinn hadn't had another episode for a month after the first one. Once the second one came however it lasted longer and each episode after that got worse.

One month after the first episode he came home to find his one month old daughter crying on the couch. Quinn was in the kitchen, seemingly oblivious to what was going on.

Two weeks after that he saw Quinn shaking their little girl to try to get her to stop crying.

One week after that he walked in on Quinn yelling at baby Beth.

The final straw however came when Beth was just two months old. Puck came home from work to find Quinn rocking herself back and forth on the floor. When Puck asked where Beth was she simply said that she was resting. Puck looked everywhere but could not find his little girl. It was thirty minutes later that he finally found her alone in the car seat still in Quinn's car. When a scared Puck carried his barely breathing baby into the house, Quinn had no recollection of what had happened.

_**(END OF FLASHBACK)**_

That is exactly what Puck knew was going to happen in a few short minutes. Quinn would snap out of it and then want to see Beth. It was the pattern.

"Did you think over what I said?" Quinn asked him sweetly.

"I don't remember what you said," Puck admitted as he continued to keep an eye on the baby in his arms.

"Don't be silly Finn, about Canada," she reminded him.

"Uh yeah, I, I did," Puck said as he played along with it. He could only remember one other time when she didn't remember who he was. The doctor said that was part of PPD too. He said that she would disassociate as a way to cope or something like that. It was normally Beth who she didn't remember however. It happened once before though so Puck was prepared. He knew he had to play along until it wore off.

"So are you coming with us?" she asked.

"Of course I am, anything to make you happy," Puck smiled.

"That's so great. We can leave now. The flight is in an hour. You, me and Beth. To start our new life in Canada," Quinn finished.

She wasn't exactly speaking coherently but Puck could get the point of what she was saying. She and Finn wanted to run away with Beth to Canada. If he was honest with himself, he wasn't mad. He might have been mad if this was the first time he had heard about it, but since he found out before they got to the airport he wasn't focused on that. At this point he was still too scared at the fact that's Quinn's PPD was coming back to be mad at her. Plus, he kept wondering where Rachel and Finn were. Things would have been easier if all of them were there.

"Yeah sounds great," Puck lied as he smiled at her. He had to look believable.

"I love you Finn," she said as she leaned over to hug him.

"I love you too Quinn," Puck said as he hugged her back. He went to pull away but before he knew it her lips were locked with his and of course this was when Finn and Rachel walked into the terminal and saw the scene.

"What the hell are you doing?" Finn screamed as he pushed Puck away from Quinn. "I let you come here with me to bring Quinn and Beth back not to have your own agenda. I should have known better."

"How could you do this to me?" he added as he looked at Quinn. She was still smiling, still in her own little world.

"You've made me the happiest girl in the world Finn and I know our life together in Canada will be a fresh start. It will be perfect," she said as she kissed Puck once again on the cheek. Finn was beyond confused.

**Oh no, what is Finn going to do?**


	45. Rebuilding Friendships

"So she thought you were me?" Finn asked after Puck had explained what had happened.

"Yeah," Puck sighed. "Finn, I think you were right. Her PPD is back."

After Puck said this, both boys were silent for a while. Finn was the first to speak up.

"How can it be back?" he asked concerned. "She was fine. Everything was fine."

"I thought so too the first time I saw it happened," Puck confessed as he replayed it in his head. "She was great with Beth but then out of nowhere only about a month after she was born, the symptoms began to show up."

"Were they bad?" Finn asked. He felt like an idiot for not knowing about this but now that Quinn had it and that they were having a baby, he needed to know.

"It didn't start out too bad," Puck recalled. "I guess it started with her ignoring Beth's crying. Then the forgetting who she was began and finally the dangerous stuff started."

"Dangerous?" Finn asked as he felt a huge lump in his throat.

He wasn't sure how much he or even Quinn would want Finn to know but Puck decided it was time. No more secrets. Finn had to know, especially since he was with Quinn now. He had to know how bad it got so he could prevent that from happening in the future.

"I came home one day and found her with Beth in one hand and a pillow in the other. I couldn't be sure Finn, but it looked like she was trying to smother her," Puck revealed much to Finn's dismay.

"You must have seen it wrong," Finn said defending Quinn. "She would never hurt Beth."

"I thought the same thing Finn but then the doctor told me it wasn't her, it was the PPD," Puck clarified. "He said when the symptoms hit Quinn would become a different person. Sometimes it would last for days, hours or even just a few seconds and she would snap back to being herself. It got a point where I was scared leaving her home alone with Beth. It hit a breaking point when I found Beth alone in her car seat barely breathing and Quinn was in the house not worried because she thought Beth was upstairs resting."

Finn's mouth dropped open in shock. He couldn't fathom Quinn ever doing this stuff. In fact it was downright terrifying. Now more than ever he really wondered how Puck could leave her, how he could leave his daughter. He hated Puck for that but most of all he hated that right now he was the one who Finn needed to help him fix Quinn.

"How could you leave?" Finn finally asked.

Puck sighed. He knew that he would have to answer this question eventually. He still hadn't quite figured it out himself though. He wished he had the answers.

"I honestly don't know," Puck began as he felt tears threatening to fall. "I tried to be there for Beth and Quinn as best as I could when she was having the symptoms but sometimes it got taxing. That's when I confided in Santana and our friendship got a lot closer. I went to her when I was having trouble with Quinn. I never told her Quinn had PPD but I did tell her that I was scared and confused. She thought it was about something different and that is kind of how we ended up sleeping together but that isn't important right now. I remember Quinn's symptoms pretty much stopping when Beth was about four months old and wow the next two months were the happiest I can remember. I honestly felt that Quinn had gotten better and the three of us were having the perfect life. Then when Beth was six months or so Quinn and I began fighting all the time. I don't even know why honestly but most of the time it kept going back to my relationship with Santana. She thought I was cheating on her but I wasn't. I mean I didn't until before I left. I felt horrible for breaking her trust like that; I knew I had to leave. I figured since the symptoms stopped that she would be okay, Beth would be okay. I wasn't worried; I knew Quinn was a great mom."

Finn listened to everything Puck said and let it sink it. He finally got the answer to the one question he had always wanted to know. He thought it would have given him satisfaction but it didn't. He wanted to hate Puck, to be mad at Puck but he couldn't. In fact he was feeling the exact opposite of hate for his former friend. He felt admiration and sympathy. He felt guilt and he felt pain. He admired that Puck was there for Quinn when she went through the toughest time of her life. He was there for her every step of the way. He may have cheated and left but Finn didn't blame him anymore. It must have gotten too much for him and with no one in his corner to talk to, no best friend, it must have been rough. Finn felt guilty that he wasn't there to help Puck and Quinn when they needed it most. Finally he felt pain. He felt for Puck the pain he must have gone through having to watch Quinn break like that. He felt the fear Puck must have had when he found his daughter alone and scared in the car. He also understood why Puck would need comfort. He couldn't imagine how he would have handled that situation. Not as well as Puck he surmised because he would have been scared to death. Puck kept cool for Quinn. He was what she needed and for that, Finn couldn't hate him anymore.

"I don't hate you anymore," Finn said as Puck looked at him confused.

"What?" he asked.

"What you did to Quinn, leaving her and Beth, I hated you for that," Finn began. "But now I can't hate you. You helped Quinn survive and at the same time you managed to keep it cool for her and Beth not to scare them. I understand how hard it must have been without anyone in your corner. I understand that you needed to find comfort with Santana."

"You have no idea," Puck sighed as he put his head in his hands. "I was so scared for Quinn and Beth that I wasn't thinking rationally."

"I get it," Finn smiled as he put his arm around his friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry too," he added.

"What are you sorry for?" Puck asked confused. "You didn't do a damn thing."

"Yes I did," Finn said as he looked at his friend. "I hated you and abandoned Quinn. Even after Beth was born I forgave you guys I did but I never came around or offered my help. I was too afraid how I would react being around Beth again. I really wish I had come by though. I wish I had been a friend to you."

"You didn't know," Puck said. He was not going to let Finn feel bad for what he did.

"I should have known that something was up with you," Finn said. "I wish I had. Maybe if I did things would be different."

"You can't seriously be blaming yourself right now Finn?" Puck asked. It was almost laughable. Puck couldn't understand why Finn was determined to blame himself for yet another thing that wasn't his fault.

"What if it is though Puck?" Finn started. "What if Quinn's PPD is my fault?"

"That's not possible," Puck told him. "It doesn't even make sense."

"It does though," Finn argued. "Maybe if I hadn't left her the way I did she wouldn't have been so stressed and this wouldn't have happened."

"I think you're giving yourself too much credit," Puck smiled. "She may not have gotten over you but she accepted my help and we had a good relationship."

"Yeah I guess," Finn said. "I still feel bad."

"Don't," Puck began. "This isn't your fault or mine or Rachel's or even Quinn's. It just happened and I'd like to say it is in the past but honestly I don't blame you, no one does."

"So what do we do now?" Finn asked after a brief silence as he looked back over to Quinn still sitting in the chair near the terminal. Rachel was talking to her, so he and Puck could go off and talk.

"We wait," Puck answered as he too looked over at Quinn, Rachel and Beth. "I know that sounds dumb but that is all we can do at this point. We can get her medical help and just be there for her and Beth. You need to be strong for her Finn. She is going to need you more than anyone else."

"She's going to need us," Finn corrected putting emphasis on the 'us'.

"What?" Puck asked confused.

"Us," Finn repeated. "Puck I can't do this alone. I don't want to do this alone. You helped her through it the first time and I know she is going to need you as much as she'll need me. And Beth, she'll need you too. I, I think it is best for you and I to work together on this one."

"You mean that?" Puck asked hopefully. This was exactly what he had wanted all along. He wanted for him, Finn and Quinn to all be friends, to work something out. He had just wished that it didn't have to happen under these circumstances.

"I do," Finn smiled. "I also think it is a good idea for you to have Beth while we deal with all of this."

"It might hurt Quinn but in the end she'll thank me for keeping her safe," Puck told his friend. He never thought he would be able to call Finn his friend again but here they were.

Another few minutes of silence went by before Finn spoke up to ask Puck the question he knew would lead to something he never expected.

"You uh are doing your work from home right?" Finn asked tentatively.

"Yeah," Puck answered curiously. He could tell Finn was nervous but he had no idea why.

"Wow, I can't believe I am going to say this but do you think you might be able to, I mean would it be okay for Quinn to, am I dumb to ask this," Finn continued to fumble with his words. He had no idea how to ask Puck what he wanted to know.

"Just spill it Finn," Puck asked anxious to find out what exactly Finn was asking of him.

"Can Quinn live with you?" Finn asked bluntly.

Puck was shocked. His jaw dropped when he heard Finn's words. He still didn't believe it. He was completely baffled. Did Finn really just suggest that Quinn live with him and not Finn? He had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

When he finally was sure that Finn had indeed said what he thought he said, Puck had to make sure it was real. "I'm sorry, what did you just ask?"

"I know it is a lot to ask but I work during the day and so do my mom and Burt. I really have no one else to ask. I know you said she shouldn't be alone and that way she could see Beth whenever but I would also feel safe knowing that she wasn't alone and that she wouldn't hurt herself or our unborn baby," Finn finished.

Puck was still taking it in. He was in fact serious. "Me? You want Quinn to live with me? Are you sure about that?" Puck asked. He needed to make sure Finn knew what he was asking. There was a bit of bad blood still between them for the past and honestly Puck didn't know if he could trust himself to not try to win Quinn back.

"I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't desperate," Finn assured him. "Look, I know we are just getting back into this whole friends thing and I can tell you that I don't exactly trust you alone around my wife but I trust her."

Puck sighed. This was everything he had wanted since he came back but now it was like a slap in the face. He would have Quinn and Beth in his home but she still belonged to someone else. He didn't know if he would be able to handle it but he knew that he had to. It wasn't about what he wanted anymore, it was about what Quinn and Beth needed. They needed him and he wasn't about to let them down again.

"I'll do it," Puck said. "I think we should go talk to Quinn first. I doubt she'll be thrilled with this idea."

"Yeah you're right," Finn sighed. "I don't know how I'm going to tell her that the PPD is back."

"It's going to suck Finn, I'm not going to lie but I'll be there to help you if you need it," Puck said.

"Can you tell her for me?" Finn asked hopefully.

Puck smiled. "No man, you're her rock and you are going to have to be through this. You've got to break the news."

Finn sighed. "I know. Thanks for being there with me though Puck. It means a lot."

"Thanks for wanting me to be there," Puck smiled.

A few minutes went by before Rachel returned to the boys with Beth in her arms. "She is lucid again," Rachel told them, "but she is in tears. You should go talk to her."

Finn looked to Puck but Puck shook his head. "Go ahead man, I'll be over in a sec," Puck said.

Finn nodded but only went so far. Puck and Rachel were still within earshot. Puck stayed with Rachel in the hallway, still trying to piece together everything.

**So what do you all think of this chapter. There are two more remaining after this so all of the storylines are going to be wrapping up. This is the beginning of Finn and Puck's story wrapping up.**

**What do you think of Finn asking for Quinn to live with Puck? Absolutely shocking right? I can honestly say this was not in my plans but it worked because well it helps to all lead up to the end. So what do you all think of Puck and Finn trying to be friends too? Are you pro of a Puck/Finn friendship? How if at all do you think this will affect the current relationships? What about Beth? Review, review, review- because next update and next two chapters will be my last in this story.**


	46. Final Update Thank You!

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!**

**I am sad to announce that today is the day that Old, New Life comes to its end. I have had an immense amount of fun writing this story and getting to express my opinions on how things should be, because let's face it, our ideas on this website are better than what RM has come up with…so far… But more than writing I have enjoyed posting each chapter and getting to hear all of your feedback and reviews. Every day I was anxious to post because I was even more anxious to see your reviews come in my mailbox. Responding to each one of them really made my day and you all are to thank for that! I enjoyed getting to see more than just myself read this story and to get to share it with people who have the same passion and love for it as I have, so again thank YOU! You are all wonderful people and I only wish I had only posted one chapter a day just to get to see your reactions to everything lol, but I know two chapters was what you all came to expect and I was happy to deliver. Some of you may have picked up on this but when I write stories I actually write them in advance. This story was entirely finished before I posted chapter one so technically it could have all gone up in one day. I didn't want to do that though. Although it was pre-written, I did use some of your ideas in reworking or adding additional chapters. This will probably be the same format I use in the future as to guarantee a new chapter goes up each day, but I might try something else, allowing you all to dictate what happens in each chapter. We will see, but I probably won't be writing again until winter break as I have lots of finals and projects coming up soon for school. If you are patient with me however I will be back. I actually have a few stories in the works which I started over the summer so maybe I can finish one of them and get one up.**

**So anyway I know this is long and probably super boring but I feel it needs to be said. All 115 reviews, all the story alerts and favorites- they mean the world literally. For all of you to like this story, it is just something I never imagined. You are all amazing! Please review the last chapter if you have a chance to let me know overall opinions and views of the story. Please, please, please be entirely honest. Point out what I did wrong and let me know so I can improve for future stories. Let me know overall if you liked the story, favorite parts, least favorite parts, if the characters were real and how you feel about the way it ended. Were you hoping for more happy/drama/sad/angst/humor? Please let me know your thoughts on the story as a whole.**

**I appreciate everything that has come my way so far especially from my loyal reviewers. Shout out to Tessie and AD who despite not having signed reviews, still reviewed almost every update. Your words were so kind and helpful and I thank both of you incredibly!**

**Special thanks also to fff who also an unsigned reader gave me the first review on this story!**

**Special thanks to cassdsassyangel, crazyfuinnja and gleekdibaa! You all reviewed almost every update towards the second half of the story and gave such insightful comments and wonderful words of praise, I am simply humbled. Your reviews were amazing and truly helped me want to post this story, so for that I thank you immensely!**

**Finally special thanks to mnpn who since chapter 8 reviewed every single update. That takes commitment and shows me a true love you have for this story which I am so happy for. Seeing your reviews on each update were always a great part of my day. I loved getting to read your comments, ideas and opinions and the fact that nothing I did with regards to drama/angst or different storylines turned you away from the story. Thanks so much for being so faithful!**

**So that wraps up my very long and sappy thank yous. Again I love you ALL for your response to this story and am so happy I was able to share this with you! Who knows, maybe a sequel is in the works…**


	47. A Past of Sharing Girls

"She is such an angel Noah," Rachel said as she handed Puck his daughter, noticing he was lost and trying to change the subject.

"I have so much to learn about her," he said, "but now Quinn needs me, us," he added pointing to Finn.

"Is it that bad?" Rachel asked.

"I'll explain it all to you later," Puck said. "Thanks for watching Beth."

"Anytime you know that," Rachel smiled at Puck. Their connection certainly didn't go unnoticed by Finn.

"Finn, I think you should take her," Puck said as he noticed him still standing there, afraid to go talk to Quinn by himself. He handed him Beth. "We don't want Quinn to panic when she realizes she is gone."

"Okay," Finn said as he walked with Puck over to where Quinn was sitting. He offered a small goodbye to Rachel, who chose to stay her distance not wanting to make Quinn freak out and Puck followed it with a small wave and smile. Finn turned around and saw the exchanged looks. There was definitely something going on between Puck and Rachel, he just didn't know what but he thought now was as a good a time as any to ask.

"Hey man, can I ask you something?" Finn said to Puck as they started over to where Quinn was.

"Sure," Puck said. "What's on your mind?"

"What's up with you and Rachel?" Finn asked bluntly.

Puck was a little confused. "Me and Rachel? We're uh friends, just friends."

"Puck, come on be honest," Finn said. "You like her don't you?"

Puck swallowed a little in his throat. He had never thought about it before, but maybe Finn was right. Rachel was only back in his life for like a week since they brought her in to testify but in that time Puck had gotten close to her again. He remembered why he had that brief crush on her in high school. She was sweet and wonderful and was great around both Caleb and Beth. Maybe he did like Rachel, but he didn't know if she liked him.

"Would it be weird if I did?" Puck asked after he had thought about it.

"Because of our past?" Finn asked referring to the long relationship him and Rachel had. "It might be a little weird at first but it can't be any different than me being married to your ex."

"I guess," Puck mused.

"If you are asking for my blessing you have it," Finn smiled.

"Really?" Puck asked. "I mean I know you and I are trying to be friends again and I wouldn't want to so anything to jeopardize that."

"Trust me Puck, you dating Rachel wouldn't mess anything up," Finn told him. "You don't have to ask my permission either. Besides I know that will make both of you happy and that is all that matters."

"Both?" Puck asked curiously.

"Yeah man," Finn smiled. "I'm pretty sure Rachel has a thing for you too. I've seen the way you two look at each other, it only makes sense."

Puck smiled. "Thanks man," he said to Finn.

"For what?" Finn asked.

"For everything," Puck clarified. "You literally have been and still are the best friend a guy could have. I betrayed you in the worse possible way and even then you still called me to not hurt my feelings when you wanted to adopt Beth. Even after all that crap, you were still concerned about me. Then I came home, tried to take Beth from you and Quinn and even then you are still willing to give me the benefit of the doubt. Now you are helping me out with Rachel. I don't even know why and I can't say it enough, but I don't deserve you as a friend."

"Look man, we've both made mistakes. It is about leaving the past behind us now and doing it for Beth and Quinn and Rachel. Besides I've missed my friend, the Puck I knew and the Puck that from recent conversations I know is back. This will all work out, everything with Quinn and Beth and I need you at this point as much as Quinn does. Don't beat yourself up over what happened before. Now come on, let's go see your daughter and her mom."

Puck nodded and then he and Finn walked over to where Quinn was sitting, as the two of them could once again say they were friends.

**Looks like Puckleberry is well on its way to happening. This chapter finishes wrapping up Puck and Finn's storyline. Happy with how it ended, them being friends?**


	48. Love Never Dies

**Whoops. Forgot to do review responses last chapter:**

**Danielle: Thanks so much for the review! I didn't want it to end either. I was racking my brain the past few days with ideas on how to keep it going but alas, all good things must come to an end. I did actually think about a sequel and if I get the time and motivation I will definitely look into what I can do.**

"Where is my baby?" Quinn screamed as she looked up and noticed Beth was not on her lap anymore. It was exactly how Puck had expected.

The boys overheard the yelling and quickly returned to Quinn's side. Quinn calmed down a bit as soon as she saw her husband and her daughter. Beth was safe and that made Quinn feel much better. Then she noticed Puck standing behind Finn and her mood immediately soured. She didn't remember what had happened between them in the airport terminal. Her last memory of Puck was in the courtroom and that was not a pleasant one.

"What is he doing here?" Quinn angrily asked about Puck.

Finn didn't know what to do. He turned to look at Puck who put his hand on his shoulder to let him know it was okay. Quinn was very confused by this. She had no idea why her ex and her husband were being so buddy-buddy.

"What is this? Are you and Puck planning against me or something?" Quinn said as she began to panic. "If you are it isn't going to work. You can't have her, you can't take my baby."

"No one is taking Beth from you, I promise," Finn said as he sat the little girl on her mother's lap. This instantly eased some of her tensions but she was still wary of Puck's presence.

"If you aren't taking Beth why is Puck here?" Quinn asked Finn.

The look in her eyes almost killed him. He hated having to break her heart like this but he had to do it. "Puck is here because I uh, we, need to talk to you," Finn said. He glanced back at Puck who just nodded.

"What do you need to talk to me about?" Quinn asked concerned. "Oh God is it Beth, is she okay?"

"She's fine baby," Finn assured her. "It's actually you who I'm worried about. I, we, think the PPD is back."

"Oh," Quinn said softly as she looked at her daughter. "Is it bad?" she asked with a look of terror in her eyes.

Finn didn't know what to say. He turned to Puck. "So far I don't know," Puck began as he locked eyes with Quinn. "When I was in here earlier you thought I was Finn and started ignoring Beth's crying. I was hoping that it was maybe just a one-time thing but when Finn told me Doctor Jacobs said that your stress level was high and that you were prone to symptoms coming back, I knew that is what I had walked in on."

"Oh," Quinn said again as she looked into Beth's eyes. She felt horrible that she just let her cry. It wasn't what a good mother would do. She continued to look at her sweet little girl and began to cry. "I'm a horrible mother," she sobbed.

"No baby it's not your fault," Finn consoled as he held her close. "This will get better. We will work through it."

"How, Finn?" Quinn asked in desperation. She continued to talk to him but she focused her attention on Puck. This was too painful for her but she knew he had been through it. If anyone understood it would be him. "It isn't safe for me to be around my own daughter and it might never be safe again, at least until she is five years old. I can't live like that, knowing that something could happen to her if something happened to me. And our baby," she added as her attention went back to Finn. "I can't be a good mom to our son if I'm so worried about what could happen. I almost killed our daughter," she said, her eyes going back to Puck. "I wouldn't be able to survive if I had."

"I am here for you Quinn and I'm not going anywhere," Finn promised. "We are going to get through this. We'll talk to doctors and get you the necessary medicine and we'll be right by your side through everything."

"We?" Quinn asked as she looked at Puck. He went through all of this once before, she could never expect him to live through it again especially considering they weren't together anymore. Still she couldn't help but hope that he was in her corner. He knew what to expect, Quinn reasoned. He would be able to help her better than Finn.

"We," Puck confirmed as he walked to the opposite side of her chair and grabbed her free hand. "I'm not leaving your side. We are in this together. You'll have me and Finn in your corner. Nothing is going to happen to you, the baby or Beth if I can help it."

Quinn smiled. She knew Finn loved her and she certainly loved him but with Puck, something about what he said was so reassuring to her. He still knew how to make her feel better. He still knew exactly what to say to make her hope that everything would be okay. She trusted him. She trusted Finn but she trusted Puck too. She didn't know why, maybe it was because they never got closure. Maybe it was because he was there when she needed him. Maybe it was because she still loved him.

**WHATTT? Quinn still loves Puck! Oh no, I wonder what this means for Fuinn and the possible Puckleberry…**


	49. Our New, Old Life

**Oh so I forgot to say this in my thank you post but there aren't enough drama filled, adventure telling, audience gripping Quick and Fuinn fics out there. I am extending the challenge to all of you to change this. If you are up for writing and imagining the ups and downs that these relationships and love triangles can bring, write a story and let me know. From your reviews, I trust that all of you would put together amazing works and I would be happy to review them, just as all of you so loyally reviewed mine. Thank you and happy reading of the last chapter of A New, Old Life.**

_**(One year later)**_

Quinn sat on the couch in Puck's home holding her one year old son Ryan in her arms. The three year old Beth was sitting next to her, admiring her little baby brother.

"There are my girls," Puck smiled as he came in from the kitchen. Beth smiled when she saw her father. It had taken some time and some hard work on his part but he finally got Beth to call him 'dad.' Finn didn't like it very much at first but they had both agreed that considering the circumstances that it only made sense that Puck and not Finn would be Beth's father.

"Hi daddy," Quinn smiled as Puck kissed her on the cheek.

"How are you feeling Quinn?" he asked her as he sat Beth on his lap.

"Every day is a battle but I'm getting better," she smiled. "It helps to have you here though."

"It's the least I could do for how I left you the first time," Puck said. "I'd never leave again."

"I know you wouldn't," Quinn smiled. "I trust you more than ever and I am so glad we were able to make it back to this point."

"Me too," Puck smiled. "Life without you and Beth was torture but now that I have you back I'm never going anywhere."

Puck picked up Beth and began tickling her. "Stop it daddy," she laughed as he continued to lift her up and tickle her.

Quinn smiled. Everything was perfect. She could have never imagined that in three short years her life would have gotten so much better. It changed so much in both good and bad ways but Quinn wouldn't have changed it for the world.

Puck continued playing with Beth until Rachel came downstairs, a crying Caleb in her arms.

"Noah honey, I think Cale is hungry, do you have his bottle ready?" Rachel said as she rubbed circles on the two year old's back.

"Yeah babe it's right here," Puck said as he handed the bottle to Rachel. She fed the bottle to the baby in her arms and rocked him back and forth until he drifted off to sleep. "I'm going to go put him to bed now okay?"

"Yeah Rach, that sounds great," Puck smiled as Rachel took his son upstairs.

Quinn started to laugh after Rachel went upstairs.

"What's so funny?" Puck asked confused.

"Everything," Quinn smiled. "If you had asked me three years ago where I thought I would be I can certainly say it wouldn't be here."

Puck laughed now too. "I know what you mean. I thought you and I would be together."

"I did too," Quinn admitted. "I also thought I wouldn't be caught dead in the same room let alone spending time in the same house as Rachel Berry."

"Hey watch it," Puck smiled. "That's my girlfriend you're talking about."

"Speaking of that when are you going to make yourself an honest man and ask her to marry you?" Quinn asked.

"Of all people I thought you would be against that," Puck confessed.

"Three years ago yes, but now no," Quinn admitted, a smile on her face. "I've never seen you as happy as when you are with Rachel and I can honestly say her and I are getting along pretty well."

"I never thought I would see the day when Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry were friends," Puck laughed.

"Whoa, I never said we were friends," Quinn corrected. "We're getting along, there is a difference."

"It's a start," Puck smiled. "Besides who do you think she is going to ask to be her maid of honor in the wedding?"

"Good point," Quinn admitted.

"And Bethie will be the flower girl and Caleb and Ryan can be little ring bearers," Puck laughed.

"I've never seen you smile so much in your life," Quinn observed. "You've got a keeper in her Puckerman."

"I hope so," he said. "What do you think about tonight?"

"For what?" Quinn asked as she noticed Puck pull a box from his coat. He opened it to show her the ring he had picked out for Rachel. "You're going to propose tonight?" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Shhh," Puck instructed. "I'd like it to be a surprise though so if you don't mind keeping it down."

"Lips are sealed," Quinn said as she made a gesture of zipping her lips. Beth did the same and both parents started to laugh.

"Caleb is sound asleep," Rachel said as she came back downstairs. Puck quickly glared at Quinn so that she wouldn't mention anything. She just nodded and put her finger to her lips making the zipping gesture again.

"Thanks Rach," Puck smiled as he kissed his girlfriend and hugged her.

"It's no problem sweetie," Rachel smiled. "Besides you know I love Caleb as my own, even if Santana doesn't like that."

Quinn scoffed. "Santana doesn't like any reality that isn't the one she chooses," she pointed out.

"You're right about that Quinn," Rachel said as Puck laughed. Trying to convince Santana to even let Rachel near Caleb had been a struggle that for some reason Puck always found comical.

"Anyway," Rachel continued. "Taking care of Cale and helping out with Beth and Ryan has given me good experience for when I have one of my own."

Quinn and Puck exchanged looks and they both smiled. Rachel looked confused but then she realized what had happened.

"You told her Noah?" Rachel asked. "I thought we weren't going to tell anyone."

"Come on Rach, they are our best friends," Puck argued. "I had to tell."

"In his defense, I did kind of force it out of him," Quinn informed Rachel. "Besides he is really excited."

Rachel smiled at her boyfriend. She couldn't stay mad at him, especially over this. "I guess it's okay, I mean I was so tempted to tell Finn the other day anyway."

"I still can't believe Rachel Berry managed to shut her mouth about anything for two whole months," Quinn smirked. "Must be a new record."

"Come on Quinn, be nice," Puck said as he wrapped his arms around both Quinn and Rachel. "You are both my girls and I can't have you fighting."

Rachel and Quinn exchanged looks and then laughed. "Puck, even I realized Quinn was just making a joke," Rachel said. "Besides she is right, I even surprised myself."

Quinn laughed. "All kidding aside though Rach, I've seen you with my kids. They love their Aunt Rachel and I just know you'll make a great mom."

"Aww thanks Quinn, that means so much coming from you," Rachel smiled. "I have to say though I'll only be a good mom from watching you."

Quinn smiled and reached across Puck to hug Rachel. He just smiled and started to laugh.

"That's my girls," he smiled. "Who says you two aren't friends?"

"Maybe we are," Quinn admitted.

"Maybe we are," Rachel repeated.

The girls continued to laugh until they heard a knock on the door.

"That must be Finn," Puck said as he got up to open the door.

"Hey man," Puck greeted as he opened the door to let Finn in. The boys exchanged a hug before Finn headed over to the couch to see his wife.

"Hey baby," Quinn said as Finn kissed her on the lips.

"Daddy Finn!" Beth screamed as she jumped into his arms.

"How are my three favorite girls today?" he asked as he hugged Beth.

"Well let's see," Quinn began. "Beth spent most of the day drawing pictures at her friend's house."

"I made this one for you," Beth said as she handed Finn a picture. "It's you, me, Mommy, Ryan, Aunt Rachie, Caleb and Daddy."

"It's beautiful sweetie," Finn said as he kissed the little girl's head. "Our perfect little family."

"I had a lovely day cleaning up after the baby," Quinn smiled. "It was good though and I felt happy and healthy," Quinn added. She knew Finn had been worried about the PPD so it felt good that she was able to ease his fears.

"That's great baby," Finn smiled. "So glad to hear."

"Oh and Rachel had the best day of all," Quinn continued.

"How so?" Finn asked the brunette.

"I got to watch both the babies for the first time by myself when Quinn and Puck took Beth to her play date," Rachel said.

"Oh sounds fun Rach," Finn said. "How were the boys?"

"Perfect little angels," Rachel said laughing.

"They always are, aren't they?" Finn chuckled.

"Rachel's having a baby," Quinn added after a few minutes of silence.

"Quinn," Rachel said. "I thought we weren't telling anybody."

"It's Finn, I had to," Quinn pleaded. "Besides you said you almost told him last week."

"I wanted to tell him though," Rachel said playfully.

"You're pregnant?" Finn asked excitedly. Rachel nodded her head yes. "That is great news Rach," he said as he got up to give her a hug. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks Finn," Rachel smiled as she hugged him back.

"I do have a question though," Finn posed. "Who is the father?"

Rachel gave Finn a small punch to the arm.

"That is exactly what I asked," Puck exclaimed as he returned from upstairs, a wide awake Caleb in his arms. "Turns out the baby didn't want to sleep."

"That is because he knew his Uncle Finn was here," Finn said as he took Caleb from Puck's arms. "Still can't believe you're pregnant though Rach, congrats again."

"Thanks," Rachel blushed as she stood with her arms around Puck. "We're so excited. Only seven months until we welcome Puck's second daughter into the world."

"It's a girl?" Puck, Finn and Quinn all asked in unison.

"Oh, I'm sorry Puck I didn't know if you wanted to know. I found out after our last appointment when you pulled the car around," Rachel confessed.

"Another daughter," Puck said softly. "We're having a baby girl." He smiled at Rachel and then kissed her.

"A sister, a sister!" Beth exclaimed, to which all four of the adults laughed.

Quinn and Finn were looking at their son and Rachel was sitting playing with Beth when all of a sudden Puck took to his knee. Rachel didn't notice at first but Quinn did. She poked Finn to get his attention and they both stared at Puck.

"What's everybody staring at?" Rachel asked as she turned around to see Puck on one knee. "Oh my God," she said.

"Rachel Barbra Berry, I have loved you for a long time now," he began. "I thought after high school I would never see you again but then circumstances brought about because of Finn and Quinn brought us back into each other's lives. I got my best friend back and I fell in love with you. You are the best girlfriend and you are just amazing with my kids. I love the little family we all have and it is time for me to make it official to make you a permanent part of it. If you want, I want you to be the woman who makes Noah Caleb Puckerman a one woman man, so Rachel, will you marry me?"

"Noah I don't know what to say," Rachel said as she continued to look at her boyfriend. She had hoped he would pop the question but she honestly never saw it coming. If he didn't do it with Quinn when they were together and with Beth, Rachel figured that nothing would make Noah Puckerman want to settle down. Rachel smiled. Being wrong never felt so good.

"Just say yes," Quinn smiled as she looked at her friend. Finn gave Rachel a thumbs up. She didn't admit it but it really did mean a lot to her that both of them, her ex-boyfriend and former enemy supported this. She originally felt weird about dating Puck again because of the entire situation. When they first starting dating, he was living with Quinn. Quinn was still with Finn but because of her health she was staying with Puck. Rachel didn't know how she felt about it but both Puck and Finn assured her that it would be okay. Finn had told her that he loved her, would always love her but that he was with Quinn and that she was the one for him. He also told her that he knew that Puck liked her and that he wanted her to at least try with Puck. Now one year after dating, she was glad she listened to Finn's advice.

"So what do you say Rach?" Puck asked again. "Will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Rachel Berry-Puckerman?"

"Yes Noah," Rachel said excitedly. "One thousand times yes."

Finn and Quinn smiled and clapped for the happy couple as they watched them embrace.

Everything was how it was supposed to be. Rachel and Puck were getting married with a baby on the way, Finn and Quinn were happily together with their one year old son and Beth had her father back. Everything was perfect. It was hard to believe that after Puck left any of this would be possible. All four of them were living separate lives after he left. Puck went to San Diego to start a music career, Rachel was living out her Broadway dreams, Finn was in Lima working at Burt's auto shop thinking about colleges and Quinn was a single mother raising a seven month old baby. To think only three short years later all of this was different, all of this was perfect for all of them. Twists and turns had taken them from being couples, enemies, friends, different couples, families and so much more. Break-ups and new relationships came about and babies were born. As Quinn looked at her sleeping son on her lap, her daughter playing on the floor, her husband next to her, her ex and baby daddy with the one he loved and her former enemy turned friend getting the happy ending she deserved, Quinn realized she wouldn't change any of it for the world. They were all happy as one little family and to Quinn that was all that mattered.

**So there you have it, the happy ending. I apologize for messing with you guys at the end of the last chapter and this one but it was so fun to make you hopefully think the relationships were different. So be honest with me, who thought I was putting Quinn and Puck together after reading the beginning of this chapter? Who thought I was entertaining the idea of a threeway, polygamous relationship between Puck, Rachel and Quinn? Who believed all along that Quinn was just a houseguest, in this case just a visitor and that I was going Fuinn all the way?**

**Other than that, what did you think of the end? I tried to satisfy as many people as I could as best I could. I gave Finchel a touching scene a few chapters back and kept the friendship alive and well. I gave Quick fans a little time to hope they were together and gave them a few touching and loving scenes as well in this chapter and at parts in the story and kept them friends and parents at the end. For those of you fans of the Puck/Finn friendship I brought it back. Those of you fans of a Rachel/Quinn friendship, I gave it to you a little. I'm not a huge fan of this friendship so I kept talking about it small. For those of you who wanted Beth to be Finn's daughter still, I kept it that way with her stepdad/ daddy Finn. Those of who you wanted Puck to be Beth's dad again, you got it. The only people I may not have satisfied is those few Santana/Puck fans, but I didn't particularly like the direction that was leading this story in so I dropped it.**

**The majority of this reader base wanted the Fuinn relationship to stay strong and I hope I delivered. They had bumps along the way but they overcame it all and got their happy ending. Despite the drama filled angst I think I gave them enough sweet moments to make up for it. There was also a late push on my part for Puckleberry, so fans of that relationship, I hope you are happy they are getting married and having a baby!**

**So all in all a fluffy last chapter which hopefully makes most of you happy. One big happy family, it all works having them so close and friends. I wonder if all of that would continue a few years later.**

**Come to think of it, a sequel for this story practically writes itself…**


	50. Final Words of Thanks  New Fic Preview

**Hey all! I just wanted to take some time to personal thank those people with unsigned reviews who reviewed to the last chapter. Sorry it is so late but here it is:**

**Danielle: thanks so much for the reviews and for liking the story! and as you read below a sequel is coming, hopefully soon! Also I'm glad you liked the ending, or rather "ending" until the sequel comes haha. I loved writing it and putting that twist in there to have the Quick people happy for a bit. If things go the way I think however they might be happy some more, come the sequel, but let's see where it goes. I am not one to write and tell…**

**AD: Haha I know the end of an era as it were but hey, all good thing have to come to an end. I mean sure I could have dragged it on but then the story would have lost integrity and I was not and will never trade quality for quantity. Glad you like the ships too because they are pretty much the only ones I write. I can never decide if I want Quinn with Finn or Puck and glee doesn't help because it conflicts me more haha. Actually it is kind of obvious by my stories, more of which to come, what was going on on screen because that often helped me decide which couple I was shipping that week. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you review my other stories to come! **

**Tessie: I'm glad it worked because that was the plan! Seriously though after all that loving Fuinn goodness, no way she could end up with Puck. Although five years in the future, things can always change… Spoiler alert: Nah, I'm just kidding, I don't give spoilers. Subtle hints for you all to possibly pick up on? Quite possibly **

**Anyway, other than giving final thank yous to all of you for reading the story, I wanted to write this final chapter so you can stop your story alerts. After today this story will go from in progress to complete. And yes, part of the reason was I wanted 50 chapters, I'm kind of weird like that, but 50 is such a better number than 49. **

**For those of you waiting, I am actually working on a sequel. Not physically putting pen to paper or in this case fingers to keyboard but I have been conceptualizing and visualizing a few ideas I have for a while now. As I said before I won't be able to start actually writing this bad boy right away, although I do get done finals in one week! Hopefully I will find time to put something together. Like I said I have ideas but not sure which direction I want to go in yet.**

**Since I love you all so much however, I wanted to invite you to read another fic I had been working on and one I recently dusted off and began to go back to. When I wrote New Old Life it was because I thought I had lost a lot of work I had done on several other fics. Turns out I didn't lose them however so now I want to finish them before starting something new. They range in all different directions but keep the Quinn/Finn/Puck relationships mainly. Since these were written like last summer, they aren't canon, well they are canon up to season 2, although since many of them happen in the future anyway, I guess it doesn't matter that much.**

**So before I ramble, within the next couple of days expect my newest story, 5 Years to be on this site. It isn't quite New Old Life but it might be enough to hold you off until I can get that sequel up and running. In case you might be interested in reading it, I'm going to post the first chapter, right here, for your eyes only and being the first to see it before it premieres lol.**

**Here is a sneak peek of 5 Years, enjoy!**

It had been five years since Finn and his glee club classmates had graduated from McKinley but every time he passes by the school he can't help but think of the memories, both the good and bad. It always made him laugh when he thought of high school now. He thought it was crazy how so much can happen in only four years. He dated both Quinn and Rachel twice, lost his virginity to Santana of all people, got a new step dad and step brother, made new friends and lost old ones and found a newfound love for singing and dancing. Finn never expected to love glee club as much as he did and he really never expected it to take his life in so many different circles. A day didn't go by that he didn't think of how it all turned out.

_**5 years ago…**_

_**It was five days before graduation day and every one was preparing to say their goodbyes to the school that had really become a family. Few would admit it, but glee club really was their little family and Mr. Schue was the father figure to them all. He helped them accept who they were and encouraged all of them to be themselves and to pursue their interests, even if those interests involved glee club. He made Finn especially feel comfortable in glee club which was something Finn would never forget. Because of Mr. Schue, Finn and each of his glee classmates became the people they are today. As they all got ready to leave McKinley and embark on new adventures, they decided to give Mr. Schue one final goodbye.**_

_**Every one of the kids decided to prepare for Mr. Schue a little glee medley as a reminder of what he did for them. They wanted to do something special and they figured that singing and dancing would be the best way to honor what Mr. Schue did for them. Their idea was a group presentation and they had been meeting in the choir room to rehearse for weeks. Today was their final rehearsal before graduation and they took the opportunity to make sure everything was perfect.**_

_**This was the last time Finn saw Quinn. She came up to him after rehearsal. The two of them were the only ones left in the room and she decided this was the best opportunity to talk to him.**_

_**The two of them hadn't exactly been on speaking terms ever since he broke up with her to date Rachel. It wasn't just the breakup that contributed to their strained relationship but rather the fallout that resulted. When Finn told her that he was breaking up with her she was devastated. He told her that he loved her but that he wasn't over Rachel. He said that he couldn't continue to date her all the while knowing that he loved someone else. She was heartbroken but she knew it was coming. Even when they were together, he always seemed to be thinking about Rachel. Quinn knew she was never enough for him and that no matter what she did she never would be. **_

_**Despite all of this however, Quinn tried to break with Finn amicably. It was all going so well until he said the one thing that made the breakup harder than it had to be. He said that he tried to love her but he couldn't get Rachel off of his mind and that maybe what Rachel said was right. Quinn asked what exactly Rachel said and Finn told her that Rachel told him, you will forgive your first love anything. He then said to Quinn that maybe Rachel was his first love. Quinn was crushed. She loved Finn and knew that he loved her too. She was convinced she was his first love but what really bothered her was that he didn't forgive her and that he was so willing to deny their love. He told her he had forgiven her, but by saying this it was clear, he never forgave her for her actions sophomore year and that he would never. Quinn told him she was glad they were breaking up because something about it all just didn't seem right anymore. **_

_**After that they hadn't really talked to each other anymore. Occasionally she would see him in the hallway and they would exchange nods or even rarer 'hello's' and sometimes in glee they talked about glee related business, but ever since the day of the breakup they never really talked which is why when Quinn came up to him after glee, Finn was surprised to say the least.**_

"_**Hey Finn?" she asked him as he began packing up his belongings. **_

"_**Yeah Quinn?" he said, smiling back at her.**_

"_**This is really great; I mean what we are doing for Mr. Schue. This was a great idea by you and, and by Rachel," Quinn said, biting her lip at the sound of that name.**_

"_**Yeah, thanks," Finn said. "After everything that Mr. Schue did for all of us, I think it is the least we can do."**_

_**Quinn nodded in agreement. She began to walk out the door but realized this might be the last chance she had to talk to him and decided to stay and say what she could.**_

"_**Finn?" she questioned again as she turned around to face her ex.**_

"_**Yeah Quinn?" he answered again.**_

"_**Can I ask you something?" she said as she rubbed her fingers through her silk blonde hair. He always found it cute when she did that.**_

"_**Anything," he replied with a smile. "What is on your mind?"**_

"_**Were you being serious when you told me that Rachel was your first love?" she questioned with a serious look in her eyes.**_

_**He looked up from his sheet music to look into her hazel eyes. They looked so sad but at the same time so endearing. He didn't expect her to ask him this so he scanned his mind looking for the right thing to say.**_

"_**Quinn, it's, it's complicated," he began. "I mean I was with you for two years and we really were the power couple of McKinley. I mean head cheerleader and starting quarterback, we really were the perfect cliché." He paused realizing that this answer was not getting him anywhere. "But, we were more than that too," he quickly added as he saw her face fill with sadness and her eyes well with tears. She just needed to hear the words but for some reason he was avoiding saying them. "Then with Rachel," he continued, "things just kind of, I don't know they just kind of happened. I never intended to become involved with her but she was sweet and emotional and I always knew what was on her mind. She was never afraid to let me into her heart and there was just something…"**_

_**Finn was interrupted before he could continue. **_

"_**something she had that I didn't" Quinn finished for him. She was so upset now, even more upset then when Finn broke up with her both times. **_

_**Quinn grabbed her bag off of the piano bench and began to head for the door.**_

"_**Where are you going?" Finn asked.**_

"_**Home," she replied. "I asked you if Rachel was your first love, and well, you gave me my answer."**_

_**She turned to head toward the door but stopped before grabbing the handle. She turned to face Finn. "I loved you Finn," she said. "You were my first love. I know our relationship wasn't perfect and maybe it was just one big cliché, but I really did love you and part of me always will because you never forget your first love." She began to cry a little bit but wiped the tears from her eyes so she could continue. "For what it's worth," she said with her back now facing him, "I am sorry. I am really sorry for everything I did to you. I know I've said it a million times and I know that no matter how many times I say it, you aren't going to forgive me, but, but," she stopped as she felt the tears streaming down her face. She paused to regain her composure and then continued, "but, I just need you to know anyway," she said before grabbing the door handle and beginning to walk out. She was stopped however by an all too familiar touch.**_

"_**Quinn, wait," Finn said. He was now standing right in front of her, with his hand on her arm. He turned her to face him and took her hands in his own. "I am the one who should be sorry," he said. "I lied to you before and I lied to you just now. Yes, I do love Rachel but it is in a different way than from how I love you. Quinn, you are my first love. You always have been from the moment I first met you and always will be until the day that I die. If I ever made you feel otherwise then I sincerely apologize." He smiled as he wiped a tear from her face and stroked her cheek softly. "Quinn, I forgave you a long time ago," he added. "I never thought I would be able to but I did. I thought that every single time I looked into little Beth's eyes, all I would see was your betrayal but that is not at all what I see. I see a miracle and one that looks just like you. All I see when I look into that little girl's eyes is love and although I am heartbroken by the fact that I am not her daddy, I don't hate you because Puck is the dad. I forgive you Quinn and I love you and always will but I think we are better off as friends." **_

_**He pulled her in close for a hug which felt like it lasted forever. She smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek thanking him for telling her what she needed to hear. As she grabbed her belongings to leave she gave him a quick goodbye wave and he reciprocated.**_

_**This was the last time he saw Quinn Fabray.**_

Finn smiled just at the thought of Quinn. He decided that he was going to look her up. He knew that she went to college locally so that she could stay in Lima to raise Beth, but he was unsure where exactly she was living. He hadn't seen her since that day in glee and he thought that a nice friendly visit would do both of them some good.

As he continued to drive home, he passed none other than Rachel Berry's house. Well it was actually her dad's house and Finn knew she hadn't lived there since going to NYU and moving to New York. Still, every time he passed the house, he thought about the other girl that got away.

**So what do you guys think?**

**A/N: As I read back through I realized this is canon up until "Rumors." The whole break-up in "Funeral" about not being tethered to her and the prom queen comments that made Quinn look like a bitch either didn't happen or I didn't use it. Probably just didn't use it, because I hated how that scene made it look like Quinn didn't care and that she only dated Finn because of the stupid prom queen stuff. Not a fan of what RM is doing with her character now either, making her crazy, but hopefully all of that is over now. Sorry for the ramble haha.**


End file.
